la maniera l'amo
by BellsConlon
Summary: Their relationship had withstood many a challenge. Through the challenges of school and sickness, will the bonds remained tied? The love in strong but can the emotions be stronger? Heavy Topics-anorexia, depression. R
1. Chapter 1

la maniera de l'amo

Chapter One

Disclaimer: Disney owns all characters associated with High School Musical franchise. All original characters are mine.

New Story!!!! I decided that maybe a new story and catchy title would interest new readers. Thanks my old ones who I know I'm going to see reviews from!!!! Let me know if you like it so far. I'm hoping to update tomorrow!!! Nuts, right? Back to school craziness, but I love the upcoming chapter.

Warning: This story will be heavy. I don't know if it will quite make you cry, but it is heavy

Enjoy!!!

* * *

"Ow! Don't tug so hard next time, please," Gabriella asked her roommate, Clare, as she braided her hair. "I really like my length, thank you."

"You'll also love the curls," Clare retorted, giving the next lock she was french braiding an extra tug for emphasis. "Troy'll go nuts."

Gabriella sighed.

"I doubt Troy will notice my hair anyway," she said somewhat sadly. "It's been a hard day. Plus, my hair is wavy anyhow."

"Now it will curl," Clare said in response to her roommate's second comment. In reference to the first, she asked in a softer tone, "He went to visit his sister, right? The one who went into the hospital?"

Gabriella nodded and Clare patted her shoulder.

"It'll be alright," she comforted. "The Redhawks game is coming up. You said your friend is on the team. Chad, am I right?"

Gabriella nodded. Over the past two months, she and Clare had grown extremely close. Gabriella had even introduced her to Taylor when she had come to visit, the two hitting off. Clare had become her Taylor on the West Coast, her confident. She knew all about the East High years, her friends, and Gabriella in turn learned of her years on the reservation and her relationship with Adrian. Clare was also the only one at Stanford who knew Troy was a Bear, a fact Gabriella was keen on keeping quiet as long as possible. The boys in her dorm liked her boyfriend; she didn't want to ruin that over some silly school prejudice.

"He'll like seeing Chad again," she agreed. "The holidays are going to be rough this year, with his first audition at school and his sister and all."

"When did she go in?" Clare asked. "If you don't mind telling. I don't want to bombard you. Feel free to keep anything to yourself you're uncomfortable with sharing."

"No, I trust you," Gabriella said, patting her friend's knee before returning her fingers to he keyboard of her laptop. "Julie went in about two weeks ago; she didn't want to see Troy but her therapist or doctor insisted."

"It sounds intense, the program she's in," Clare commented, tying off one of the braids. "Scary intense."

"She's sick," Gabriella said with a shrug. "She collapsed during a dance class; a friend had to drive her to the ER. I can't imagine how traumatizing that must have been."

"A friend?"

"More boyfriend, from what I gather. Her heart had stopped. She was in the hospital near home for a few days before a psych consult advised more intense treatment, leading to UCLA."

"And you might be going to see her tomorrow?" Clare asked. "Is that why you're rushing to finish an report that's due in a week?"

"Partially," Gabriella agreed with a small laugh. "I do want to get ahead on assignments, though. It's just what I do."

"Not me," Clare said. Her roommate was studying education and often was finishing homework in the wee hours of the morning. It amused Gabriella, even if it caused her to lose sleep.

"Troy is going to crash here," Gabriella reminded. "Is that still okay with you?"

"For not even knowing the guy for more than two, three, months, I've seen more of him than some of your closest friends, probably," Clare mused. She and Adrian had interrupted the couple many a time since the first time. Troy had dubbed her the 'new Danforth.' "Of course I'm cool with it. I love the boy."

"Good to know," Gabriella said with a laugh. "You done yet?"

"Yes!" Clare proclaimed, tying the second braid off. The swung from Gabriella's head, nearly down to her waist. Her hair had grown long since arriving in California. "I love the shirt, by the way."

Gabriella looked down and blushed; she was wearing a the t-shirt Troy had given her, a navy blue one with UC Berkley, a small bear emblem, and his new number, 65. It was an extra large, swimming on her, so she slept in it.

The sound of breaking glass came from outside the door, but Gabriella and Clare didn't even flinch. They were used to the sound by now.

"Friday night keg parties," Clare mused, stretching her long frame out on her bed. "Got to love them."

"Usually you're out there getting wasted with the rest of them," Gabriella reminded in a teasing tone. "If I remember a particular game of strip poker.."

"That you played!" Clare shot back. "You and Troy were just as bad."

"That was a one-shot night," Gabriella retorted. "You make it a weekly occurrence."

"I'd like to actually remember the sex tonight," Clare explained with no shame. She was very open about her sex life, a trait Gabriella still was growing used to. "Plus, a certain roomy of mine needed some girl time."

"Alright, I'll give you that," Gabriella agreed, closing her laptop with a snap. "I did need tonight."

Clare opened her mouth to reply, but the door to their room swung open with a bang, revealing Adrian and his blond roommate, Tony.

"Hey girls!" he chirped, cup in hand, clearly still his first cup, as indicated by the still understood speech. Tony, on the other hand, looked a little worse for wear.

Gabriella made a dive for her quilt, knowing she was stupid for wanting to cover a shirt, but she wanted terribly to avoid the question that Adrian asked next.

"Hey, Gab, what's on your shirt?" he questioned.

"Nothing?" she tried to lie pathetically. "Can we close the door?"

"Why?" Tony managed a coherent sentence.

"She's not wearing pants," Clare barked flatly. "Really, Adrian, not tonight. She's going through a bit of a rough time."

"I'll say," Adrian agreed. "The shirt's not helping, either. Hey, Mullen, get in here!"

Gabriella groaned, looking to Clare for reassurance. This is what she had been fearing.

The tall, dark form of BJ Mullen, captain of the Cardinals basketball, appeared in the doorway, flanked by to other boys who played forward on the Stanford basketball team.

"What's up, Adcox?" Mullen greeted, the boys exchanged a handshake.

"Take a look at the shirt," Adrian said, waving a hand in Gabriella's direction. BJ lived in the dorm room next to Adrian and Tony, but having not played the Bears yet, he hadn't put two and two together and figured out who Troy was. That little tidbit of information was now going to be revealed, it seemed.

BJ took in Gabriella, his friend whistling lowly. Gabriella rolled her eyes. She was more confident with herself ever since she and Troy had taken their relationship to the next level, but not so far confident as to mind when other boys appreciated the sight of her pant-less. Unless she was drunk and had no memory of the experience.

"Is that...a Bear on your shirt?" he asked slowly. "A Berkley Bear? You _do _know where you go to school, right?"

Gabriella nodded.

"Yes, sorry if I've broken some unspoken code of loyalty," she snapped. "Can you guys just leave me alone, please?"

"Not until the origin of the offending shirt is found," BJ said, advancing. "It's confusing to-"

"It's mine."

All heads turned quickly to a voice in the hallway, the speaker coming into view. Seeing Troy in his current state made Gabriella's heart ache, pumping painfully in her chest. She pushed her way through the jumble at her doorway and threw her arms around him, her shirt riding up, but she didn't care. The tired, sad, and empty look on her love's face scared her.

"Are you okay?" she whispered as Troy's hug tightened. She stood on her toes, touching his cheek lightly. "Baby?"

"In a minute," he promised, looking over her shoulder at the growing crowd.

"It's mine," he repeated. "Troy Bolton, guard, UC Berkley Bears. Please leave my girl alone, if it's not to much of a problem."

Adrian and BJ stared at him dumbfounded before Adrian recovered with, "Dude, you're a Bear? Dating a Cardinal? Do you have a death wish?"

"Adrian!" Clare's stern shrill came from the room, the tall girl appearing in view. "Who cares where they go to school? They give a fuck about each other and that's all that matters. You all were even beginning to become friends with Troy and if that's going to change of a mascot, you're all bigger asses than I thought." She shot a glare at her boyfriend. "Now come. Leave the two alone and get me drunk. Who wants to see my new undies?"

Immediately, the boys followed Clare down the hall, Gabriella shooting her a thanking look. Clare waved a hand, dismissing it as no big deal. Gabriella nodded and pulled Troy into her dorm room, clicking the lock as she knew Clare would crash in Adrian's room.

"Troy," she said, pulling her boyfriend's coat off of his shoulders when he made no attempt to. "Come on. Get in bed. We'll talk trying to fall asleep, okay? You've had a long day."

Troy nodded and pulled his t-shirt over his head, his jeans off of his legs, Gabriella silently gasping at how hot he looked in his boxers before he picked her up bridal style and placed her carefully on top of her quilt, spreading a hand over the face of the Bear as he did so.

"I always loved seeing you in my gear," he said with a smile as Gabriella pulled the quilt over the two, settling her head on his chest. He supported his head with a hand, offering her the pillow, which she defiantly denied. "You look so sexy in it."

"I'm glad I made you smile," she said softly, turning her body over so to allow her chin to rest on his stomach. "I was worried I wouldn't see one tonight."

Troy put a hand on the small of her back and closed his eyes for a moment.

"You have no idea how hard today was," he said quietly. "Well, you might, but I definitly had no idea of what to expect."

"What happened?" Gabriella asked.

"Not only was I there for visiting hours, but I had to sit in on a therapy session. Apparently her shrink thinks we have some issues to work though," Troy told her.

"And how did that go?"

Troy shook his head. "Awful. She wouldn't talk, just sat there, her arms crossed."

Gabriella pulled herself onto her forearms.

"Is that all that shook you up?" Gabriella asked. "If it is, okay. But you look scared, almost."

"She's skeletical," Troy nearly whispered. "Hooked up to an IV. It's disturbing, seeing my baby sister like that."

Gabriella laced her hand through his and rubbed circles on the pad of his palm soothingly.

"We don't have to go tomorrow," she said earnestly. "Really. If Julie's in no state to see me and you'd rather not go, I respect that. I don't want to intrude, Troy. I'm sure her family should be with her first."

Troy put a hand to her cheek and drew circles with the pad of his thumb, putting the other arm behind his head to support his neck and he looked at her.

"I want you to come with me," he said. "You're support for me and honestly, you are family at this point. If I have my way, Julie will be around you the rest of her life."

Gabriella bit her lip and blushed slightly.

"You've had your way with me on many occasions," Gabriella teased. "I don't see why your new way should be any different."

A low mumur came from the back of Troy's thought as she rolled her over and hovered about her.

"You cannot say that kind of thing," he growled before lowering himself down to kiss her. "I'm upset about my sister and now you've got me horny. Evil temptress, Montez."

"Hm, sorry," Gabriella mumbled against his lips as Troy rolled back onto his back. "I do feel awful when I seduce you."

"So you meant to do it?" Troy asked, pulling away. "I'm emotionally unstable and you totally just planned that."

Gabriella shrieked in disbelief.

"I did not!" she defended. "I would never! I know what is going on for you right now. What I meant by the statement was that I hoped to stay with you as well. You're the one who took it in a sexual way."

"Do you mind that I did?"

"Cocky!"

"Well, do you?"

Gabriella responded with a zealous kiss that pulled another moan from Troy. The continued to kiss a flurry of passion, Gabriella's shirt riding up to expose her stomach as Troy moved to her neck.

"Troy," Gabriella warned. "Don't turn your feelings into a sex drive. Talk if you need to. I am good for more than a screw toy."

"You're not a screw toy. Don't call yourself that," Troy instructed. "And really, what I want right now is you. All of you. Tomorrow you're going to be there for me, supporting me, making sure I don't strangle my sister. You'll take care of me. I want to take care of you."

Gabriella rolled her eyes, but visions of what Troy could be doing at the moment were always on the edge of her thoughts.

"Well, if that's what'll make you feel better..."

* * *

R&R!


	2. Chapter 2

le maniera l'amo

Chapter Two

Disclaimer: All characters affiliated with the High School Musical franchise are not mine. Original character and plots are.

Heyy!! Hope you all liked the first chapter!! I was so excited about the response you all put out!! Enjoy this chapter! R&R.

* * *

Troy's tension was evident as they made their way to the treatment center. Although he tried terribly hard to hide it, Gabriella could still see his paranoia, in the clenched jaw, in the way his hands tightened around the steering wheel or held her hand tightly.

He was trying to be strong, to show that the situation wasn't affecting him as deeply as Gabriella knew it was. Troy didn't like to be vulnerable, to show a weakness. He also felt compelled to angry at Julie, for he didn't know what else to feel. Anger seemed like an easy emotion to grasp onto and hold tightly to.

He helped Gabriella down from the truck as he always did. She turned to shut the door behind her but was pulled back by Troy, who pulled her into a tight hug. She melted in his embrace, rubbing his back soothingly, murmuring comforting words in his ear.

"You can do this," she assured. "You're strong and you can do this. I'm here for you. You can do this."

Troy nodded and pulled away, still keeping a tight grasp on her hand as he shut the door. Gabriella noticed his eyes were already rimmed with red and she swallowed hard, hoping she would be able to keep it together for his sake.

He led her inside, keeping his gaze fixed ahead, afraid that looking down at Gabriella would release the onslaught of emotions he was feeling. She had a way of listening so carefully and non-judgmentally that he always, ever since their lack of communication a summer ago, was able to tell her what was on his mind, even if took some prodding on Gabriella's part.

The two checked in, the nurse at the station checking through Gabriella's purse to make sure she wasn't bringing in harmful medications that Julie would use to revert back to old ways.

The graying nurse clucked her tongue when she came across Gabriella's nail file.

"I'll be holding this, dearie," she said, placing it in a plastic bag, marker poised at the ready as she asked, "Name?"

'Gabriella Montez' was written across the labeled-front.

"Come and collect when you're done your visit," she instructed. "Now who are you hear to see?"

"Julie Bolton," Troy said. The nurse shook her head and nodded.

"Room D," she said. "Good luck. She's not in a pleasant mood."

"Thank you," Troy said, leading Gabriella down the hall. It was quiet in the ward, only a small group of three girls sitting quietly around a table, the voices low as the flipped through magazines. Gabriella noticed several pages ripped and pictures cut out.

"Why are the magazines like that?" she whispered to Troy.

"The staff takes out all pictures or articles on dieting or keeping thin," Troy explained in a low tone. "Anything that could act as a trigger. I'll explain more later, I promise. I should have told you before we came."

"No, no, it's fine. You're doing fine," she assured. The walked by several rooms, the doors closed and decorated with names. Only two doors were open, one of them being Julie's. Troy knocked tentitively on the frame.

"Jules?" he called. "It's me. Gabriella came too."

"Come in," Julie said, her voice nasal. Gabriella saw the source as she and Troy entered the room where two twin beds were set with cameras poised on each. Julie's roommate was clearly an ice skater, as pictures of family and friends at various events were hung around. Julie's side lay bare, aside from the pink of her bedspread.

"Jules, what the hell!" Troy hissed, dropping Gabriella's hand to rush to his sister's bedside, where she lay with a book. "What is that?"

Julie put a hand to her nose, where a feeding tube rested.

"That's how I'm getting fed," she nearly snarled. "And watch my IV; the line's pulling."

Gabriella walked slowly closer, careful to keep her distance. Troy sank down into one of the two chairs by her bedside, motioning for Gabriella to sit next to him.

"Why do you have the tube?" Troy asked, sounding exhausted. "Can I guess mom and dad don't know yet?"

"Correct," Julie informed. "I've been bad. You're bad, you get the tube."

"You refused breakfast," Troy stated flatly. "Nice, Julie."

Julie shook her head.

"No, I had my juice," she retorted. "Still got the stupid thing."

Troy just shook his head.

"You want to try a bit?" he asked. "Make this a bit easier?"

Julie's response was to redirect her gaze to Gabriella.

"Hey, Gab," she greeted. "Cheery place, isn't it?"

Gabriella opened her mouth to respond but Julie cut her off.

"Thanks for not wearing anything form fitting, btw," she added. "I mean that with all sincerity. You're triggering enough without showing off your itty bitty waistline."

Gabriella glanced down at the button down of Troy's she had thrown on with a pair of shorts.

"You're...welcome?" she said, hoping the response was appropriate. "Your roommate's a skater than?" She changed the topic with the first thought that came to mind.

"Yeah, Jen's a skater," Julie repeated. Gabriella's face was confused still, for Julie went on. "It's Saturday; they're all out on pass. That's why you see so many doors closed. They're all out. I'm not allowed to go until I'm off my IV."

Gabriella nodded, her head spinning with new intake of information.

"You don't have many decorations up," Gabriella commented, looking over her shoulder to Julie's built in wardrobe were her doors lay bare while Jen's were plastered with photos.

Julie shrugged and replied, "Don't have many pictures I want up."

Gabriella looked to her bedside table where a framed one of Julie and a boy sat. Julie followed her gaze.

"It's Jimmy Zara," she explained. "He was up here last week."

"You two are close?" Gabriella asked.

"He's the one that drove her to the hospital after she passed out," Troy spoke lowly. "Good kid. Don't understand why anyone would kick him out."

Gabriella understood from the glare Julie shot her brother that the conversation had to events that she was not privy to.

"I didn't want him here!" Julie snapped.

"He missed a basketball game for you!" Troy shot back. "You know what a big deal the team is to him."

"Maybe not as big a deal as you think!" Julie cried, slamming her book closed. "He's not you, Troy! Don't act like you know what he's dealing with!"

It was clear to Gabriella that this was a continuation of a previous argument. She was surprised she hadn't heard about it; Troy usually vented to her when Julie was getting him aggravated.

The volume of Julie's yell had been heard at the nurse's station and the greying woman who had checked Troy and Gabriella in appeared in the doorway.

"Julie, what did your doctor say?" she asked sternly. "If you keep fighting with visitors, you won't be allowed to have them and he'll keep you on the tube longer."

As she spoke she came to the girl's bedside.

"You were uncooperative yesterday," the nurse reminded. "What did Kristen say? Your brother was to return and if you fought, he wasn't allowed to stay." She turned to Troy and Gabriella. "I am sorry for the inconvenience, but I will have to ask you to leave."

Troy stood up and stalked out of the room. Gabriella heard his chest heave and knew his tears had spilled over.

"If I'm allowed to come back," Gabriella said to Julie, "would you like me to bring some decorations? Maybe dance pictures, some posters?"

Julie looked surprised at Gabriella's gesture but nodded.

"Um, actually, yeah," she said softly. "I-I would like that."

Gabriella nodded and patted Julie's hand before turning to follow Troy out of the room. He was waiting for her at the nurse's station, plastic baggy in hands.

"We're signed out," he said curtly, turning to continue towards the exit. Gabriella caught up with him and gently took his hand, taking the bag and slipping it into her purse.

"Is that why you had to come back today?" she asked softly as they left the ward and took the elevator down to the parking lot. "Her therapist asked you?"

Troy nodded, not meeting her gaze.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked. He didn't reply, just opened the door for her and made his way around to his side of the truck. "Troy?" He wouldn't reply.

Gabriella leaned back against the seat, her face turned away from his, gazing out the window. She knew this had been hard on him the past few weeks, the visits with Julie. She now understood why; Julie was not in a good place concerning her relationship with her brother. All the same, Troy was usually open with Gabriella, talking to her. They knew that in order for their relationship to work, period-college aside-they would need to talk. Troy had said he wanted her part of the process with Julie and he wasn't even being truthful with her, just vague with details and motives. She shook her head, realizing the sex the previous night was what she had thought it was: angry and upset emotion that Troy didn't feel like dealing with. He had even assured her that was not his intention.

Gabriella shook her head and closed her eyes, willing the tears to not fall. When Troy looked over, though, he found two trails of liquid upon her cheeks.

"Hey!" He took her hands, his voice concerned. "What's up? Are you crying because of Julie and the fight and all? I'm sorry if it upset you."

Gabriella shook her head with a sniff.

"That's not what I'm upset about," she said.

"Well, what's up? Talk to me, Gab."

"That's it."

"What's it?"

"The talking!" Gabriella cried. "We both knew that this relationship wouldn't work, from the start, if we didn't talk. Lava Springs is proof of that."

"I know," Troy said. "I messed up that summer and I regret it. It almost tore us apart."

"Well, now I"m worried this will," Gabriella replied.

"This?"

"Your sister," she elaborated. "You didn't tell me you had to come back today, only that you wanted you, when you clearly didn't. I knew nothing of the fighting. Usually you come to me about this kind of thing! And last night- I was right. You just didn't want to deal with your feelings and decided that sex was a good distraction."

"That is not true," Troy stated flatly. "Not at all. I needed you. I wanted to be with you last night. I"m sorry I haven't been telling you every stupid detail, Gabriella! But I had a good reason for it but you just have to jump to conclusions!"

"Troy, I have to put my guard up!" Gabriella cried. "I do trust you, but I've bad experiencing when it comes to people lying to me. I don't want you to fall among their ranks."

"You still wouldn't give me a chance to explain," Troy said, turning a corner sharply. "You jumped to conclusions."

"I know I do it and it's a flaw I have, I know," Gabriella agreed. "Taylor gets on my case about it all the time. I do it a lot in our relationship, I won't lie. But this is the first time I'm involved with someone this deeply. People have hurt me, Troy. It's my defense to put my guard up."

Troy pulled the car over to the side of the road, parking in front of a small house. The dog in the front lawn, upon spotting the car, jumped up and began barking madly.

Troy kept his hands clenched on the wheel, breathing heavily.

"Look, I'm sorry," Gabriella said. "It's a problem, I know."

Troy kept his gaze fixed on the wheel.

Gabriella rolled her eyes.

"That's great," she said, falling back against the seat. "I apologize and you continue to ignore me. This is great."

She opened her mouth to add another retort, but was cut off by Troy's mouth pressing against hers, his hands on her cheeks, holding her in his grasp.

"What-are-you-doing?" Gabriella gasped between kisses. "Troy!" He had moved to her neck.

"Apologizing and accepting yours," he said gruffly. Gabriella moaned as he kissed her weak point, trying to keep a straight frame of mind. "I'm an ass, I get it. Sorry."

"No, I overreacted," she managed to gasp. "You don't need to tell me everything! Really, if you're not up to it-"

He cut her off again.

"You're right," he said, resting his forehead against her own. "I should've been talking to you more about this. I want you involved and you deserve to know what's going on. I've been wrong, but trust me next time, okay?"

Gabriella nodded.

"I should piss you off more often!" she said. "This is a fun apology!"

"Hm," Troy agreed, kissing her again. A scratch was heard, followed by a woof.

"We have a dog on our case," Gabriella grumbled.

"Let's head back to school than," Troy suggested. He started the engine and pulled out from the front of the house. "Sorry about Julie, again. Her therapist is my new stalker. She's determined to get Julie and I on good terms. Apparently, I was a heavy trigger in this or something."

Gabriella snorted.

"That must make you feel so amazing," Gabriella observed. "Some shrink. Isn't the point of therapy to assure that it was no one's fault? At least that's what my mother always told me and I assume she learned that from her therapist."

Troy shrugged.

"Her shrink keeps hitting on me," he said begrudgingly.

"I'll be so excited when you visit without me," Gabriella said sarcastically. "Speaking of visits, though, next time, I offered to bring Julie some decorations, maybe a few posters? If I'm not allowed to go back, can you take stuff up?"

"You're coming back," Troy stated. "Julie was actually speaking to you, which is good. It means it was never you she was pissed at, only me."

Gabriella put a hand on his arm.

"Listen to me," she said sternly. "None of this is your fault. Don't ever think that, okay?"

* * *

This kind of turned dark, I realize, but trust me. I really am trying to show the reality of a relationship, the ups and downs. Let me know how you liked it!!! New chap by Friday, I hope.

-youMEANeverything14


	3. Chapter 3

le maniera l'amo

Chapter Three

Disclaimer: All characters affiliated with the High School Musical franchise are not mine. Original character and plots are.

I'm a bitch for not posting as promised, I know. But yours truly is having a play she wrote performed professionally and she is in two shows with leading roles and another audition coming up, all in the week or so I was away. So don't hate to much, please??

Thank you for all of the alerts!! To those reading, I love you for it!! I know it's so hard to review, so I just thank you for taking the time to read this piece.

This chapter is total Troy/Gab. Their relationship is going through a lot and I would love honest feedback on how you think I am doing with it.

Love you all!!

* * *

Gabriella's alarm went off, the beeping sound filling the small space of her double dorm room. Clare was gone, having her first class of the day start at 8:30. Gabriella rolled over, her eyes squinted as the morning sun shone through her window, as she groggily read the time beaming back at her in red neon digits. 9:17.

Typically, any wake up time after 7:30 was a late start for Gabriella. As of late, though, she hadn't been falling asleep until well after midnight, gratefully looking back in retrospect to the day she had decided to take her Tuesday law class at 12:30.

She fell back against her pillow and closed her eyes, wishfully willing herself to fall back into her previous dreamless sleep. Sleep was the only time the constant headache she had had for the past week subsided; otherwise, the dull pain was always present during her waking hours. She knew very well that the large coffees keeping her functioning were truly awful for her health, but with the stress of Julie and her boyfriend, she wouldn't be functioning with a Starbucks in hand for a large portion of the day.

What had been driving Gabriella insane, aside from the stress, was the fact that she had no one to confide in about it. Everything was just piling up inside her and she felt as if any day now it would all come spilling out in the form of a major breakdown. Usually, Troy would talk her through and be with her, but as of late he was in a delicate state as well.

Realizing that sleep was now out of her reach, Gabriella rolled to her side and reached for her cell phone on her bedside table. She clicked it free of the charger and found that she had two texts and a message. She knew very well what the one text would say; Troy had taken to sending her 'I'm sorry, I love you' notes every morning. Gabriella knew it was because he felt guilty about his sister's admittance to the hospital and the fact that he and Gabriella were now visiting her every two to three days. They were even scheduled to take her out on pass the coming weekend, as it was hard for Coach and Mrs. Bolton to make the commute every weekend. Kristen, Julie's IP therapist, also believed that "stitching the tear" in the siblings' relationship was necessary to her recovery. Little did Kristen realize the extra mounds of stress that were being placed on the already very stressed freshman.

Gabriella held down the number two button on her phone and pressed it to her left ear, rolling to her right side to gaze out the window as the phone rang.

"Morning," Troy greeted, his voice holding a bit more cheer than Gabriella was accustomed to hearing. Every since the first time Gabriella had visited Julie nearly two weeks ago and she had snapped at Troy, he had grown somber as the visits continued in the same repetitive pattern.

"You sound upbeat today," Gabriella commented, yawning loudly. "Sorry, just ignore me."

"No, I find it cute," Troy said with a laugh. "And kind of a turn on, knowing you're laying in bed, alone, in one of my old shirts."

Gabriella glanced down at her nightwear; the yellow and purple Laker's logo stared blinding back up at her from the front of Troy's tee shirt.

"I cannot deny that fact," Gabriella admitted.

"Which one was it?"

"I'm still in you're Lakers tee shirt." She smiled as Troy groaned.

"What?" she teased. "Thinking about those Lakers girls and their nonexistent dance costumes?"

"No," Troy growled huskily. "I'm thinking about you in much less."

"Okay, the depression meds have made you extremely horny," Gabriella remarked. "Speaking of, did you take them?"

"Yeah," Troy replied, referring to the antidepressants Julie's doctor had placed him on a week ago. "They took hold, I guess."

"The doctor did say to give it a week," Gabriella reminded. "Look, I know you hate it-"

Troy sighed.

"I don't. I needed them," he broke in. "I know I did. I just wish you had come to me before just bringing it up in session."

"I'm sorry, but you wouldn't have agreed if I had talked to you before hand, and you know it," Gabriella defended. "You're letting yourself go and I feel like I have to be there to make sure the pieces of you stay together."

"I can keep a handle of myself," Troy argued. "I know this has been hard, but Gabs, you can worry about you too. You're not my mom."

Gabriella ignored the unintentional jab Troy had shot at her.

"Your mom and dad tried to reach out and you pushed them away," Gabriella reminded. "I'm here, whether you like it or not. I will take all the shit you throw at me, but I'm here, Troy, and not leaving. We're there for each other, remember?"  
Troy sighed again.

"Yeah, I do," he admitted. "I know. I'm an ass." Gabriella rolled her eyes.

"Just get your ass over here," she commanded. "You can crash in my room while I'm at class; I know how tired you are." She bit her lip and added on afterthought, "Can you make the drive?"

"If I feel like I'm going to fall asleep at the wheel, I'll call you," Troy said. "It'll be your job to keep me awake."

Gabriella smiled devilishly.

"Oh, I have ideas if that occurs," she purred in the sultry voice she knew unwound Troy. She smirked as she pictured his face, eyes closed, mouth hanging open, phone pressed to his ear, a film playing over in his head.

"I'm exhausted," he said in monotone, toying with her. "Prepare to keep me awake. And when I get there, the real thing over the voice would be great..."

"Troy." Gabriella's voice turned stern. "The meds are working; I'm very happy for that. You're not going to feel as stressed and you'll be lighter; we won't fight as much and that will be amazing. But we agreed that having sex to put our feelings aside-on both our parts-is a not happening."

Truly, Gabriella was happy to hear Troy sounding more like his pre-hospital self. The past two weeks, ever since the first spat on the way home from the hospital, had been reoccurring days of the same small fight: Troy would be ambiguous about his visits for therapy sessions, in the few days before Gabriella had been invited to attend, an ivitation she declined until further notice. Troy didn't understand why she had put them off, for he didn't know she had also been calling Julie and had sent her a care package. Eventually, both came clean, but they also realized that the stress and edginess they were feeling was causing them to isolate those who cared. Gabriella had done it after her dad died; if no one was around, there was no one to talk to. If you couldn't talk to anyone, there were no feelings to deal with. It was a vicious cycle and Gabriella and Troy both knew they were going to have to deal not only with Julie taking a toll on their relationship, but their own actions as well.

Many a time, after an extrememly emotional visit, Troy would pull the truck onto a deserted street and he and Gabriella would just sit, the air simmering, until one reached over for the other hungerly, another coping method for not dealing with the feelings. Gabriella knew it was bad; Troy knew it was bad. It was just so easy to kiss and forget about what was really happening. They both knew, though, that to see another day or week, mouth or so together, the talking, no matter how painful, would have to happen.

Troy moaned in her ear; she heard a door slam in the background.

"Are you leaving already?" she asked.

"Yeah," he nearly growled. "I need to see you before I get to horny to function."

Gabriella snorted.

"That seems to have been all the time lately," she taunted. "I think you've been doing well in the functioning department." Her tone turned serious as she added, "Really, Troy. Not many people would be able to cope this well with everything you're dealing with."

The line went silent for a minute. Gabriella could hear the padding of Troy's feet, picturing him sliding his Ray Bans onto his face as he approached his truck, the engine roaring to life.

"That thing really is loud," she joked half-heartedly.

"Yeah," Troy deadpanned.

"Troy," Gabriella said, trying to keep her tone from flipping into a pleading voice. "This is what I hate. We'll be joking, I say something, you go cold."

Troy sighed.

"I just hate talking about Julie more than I have to," he explained. "I don't want to ruin time with you with all that stuff."

"Troy, it's your life right now," Gabriella reminded. "I'm in this with you. I'm done walking away, and I thought you were too. After the two previous summers, I'd thought we learned that lesson."

"I really don't see how me being a jerk and you having issues with separation really relate to my sister," Troy said.

"Issues with separation?" Gabriella pursed her lips and cocked an eyebrow. "I wasn't the one who came chasing, Wildcat."

"I didn't mean it like that!" Troy cried, frustrated. "I just meant that we both have our separate things to work through. And you know I wanted to come after you. Don't make that into a bad memory."

"It's not!" Gabriella defended. "Really, that's one of the sweetest things you've done for me. I was stupid and emotional...you were there for me, Troy. You were willing to base college decisions off of my actions! You were able to be sympathetic and really try to understand what I was going through! Why can't I return the action?"

"I'll be there in fifteen," Troy responded. "I want to finish this in person and I don't want to get pulled over or something. Wait for me."

Gabriella nodded, and even if he couldn't see the action, she was positive he would know she had agreed. The call ended and Gabriella pulled on leggings and belted the shirt so it cinched in at the waist. Changing her clothes did not fill fifteen minutes, so Gabriella busied herself with straighting her side of the room, and as that took about thirty seconds, she moved on to Clare's, trying to keep her thoughts from straying to the ugly outcomes that realistically-hopefullly-would never occur in her relationship, but outcomes that still haunted her thoughts anyhow.

Her back was turned to the door when Troy came softly in, the paddings of his flipflops muffled by the carpet. Gabriella had abandonded her cleaning and was now sitting on her bed, arms wrapped around her knees, pulling her legs tightly to her chest, her chin resting atop her knees. She had been patiently watching the walk outside for Troy, but her eyes had closed, the exhaustion finally catching up with her.

Troy came to her side, kicking his shoes off before laying down behind her. His weight caused the bed to sink, the movement startling Gabriella awake.

"Oh!" she cried softly, turning her head to look down at his somber face. She turned her body. "Hey. You came."

"Of course," Troy said, taking her hand, pulling her onto his chest. She stiffened initially but melted onto him, which Troy took as a good sign.

"You're tired," he commented in a murmur, wrapping his arms around her thin frame.

"Hm," she agreed, cuddling into his side. "Because you aren't. At least I can sleep during the drives. You miraculously keep yourself awake."

"Caffeine is an amazing thing," Troy put in. Gabriella grinned and propped her chin on his chest, looking at him as he supported his head with his hand.

"So, what was so important that it could not be said over the phone, causing my extrememly drowsy basketballer to drive to tell me in person?" she asked.

"You are way to good for me," Troy replied.

"Doesn't answer the question. Why aren't you letting me return the gesture for what you have done for me?"

"My previous response did answer that question: you are way to good for me, wanting to visit Julie, coming every trip, believing that I somehow deserve the same treatment that you do, because I so do not," Troy stated. "I've been such an asshole, it's ridiculous and my actions have been inexcusable."

Gabriella pulled herself closer to him, meaning her frame was nearly laying flat on top of his. Troy was to focused on her next response to even allow his thoughts to turn into that of a horny fifteen year old.

"Yeah, you're an asshole," she repeated, "a sensitive, caring asshole who is dealing with so much shit right now it's not even funny."

Troy's baby blues widened in surprise.

"So not what I expected," he commented. "Can all of those adjectives be used in the same sentence with asshole? You're smart."

Gabriella laughed.

"I just want to be there for you, Wildcat," she explained. "And I'm sorry if I seem pushy or overbearing, but you have no idea of how much it kills me to see you like this. It really hurts, Troy, to see you struggle, because you're normally so collected and prepared."

Troy nodded.

"I guess I've been pretty ungrateful," he replied. "Isn't coveting a sin or something? 'Cause if it is, I've been sinning since New Year's Eve 2006. Seriously, I lucked out in life."

He leaned forward to press a kiss against her lips. Gabriella smiled against the embrace, bringing her hands up to rest on his cheek and neck.

"So be a good boy and keep me happy," she murmured. "You're luck is not running out anytime soon. I promise."

* * *

I don't believe this was at all cliche, but than again, I wrote it, so what do I know?? Please review and give some feedback and what you want to see go on. The next chapter will bring Julie back in, maybe focus on her a bit in treatment. I know it's heavy, but bear with me. Jimmy is returning as well!!!

-youMEANeverything14


	4. Chapter 4

le maniera l'amo

Chapter Four

Disclaimer: All characters affiliated with the High School Musical franchise are not mine. Original character and plots are.I'm

Heyyyy. HSM3 is out on DVD 2.17.09. Who is EXCITED??

I'm done. Anywho, I was so happy to see some new readers who added me to alerts and I really want to get your feedback, if you have the time. Your reviews really make writing this such a joy, knowing people are enjoying it so much!!!

* * *

"Knock knock."

Julie looked up, causing the nurse adjusting her feeding tube to poke her painfully.

"Aw, damn!" she swore. "Watch it!"

The nurse kept her mouth shut as she turned Julie's chin to face her again, finishing her procedure before glaring at Julie as she left.

Julie rubbed the bridge of her nose in attempt to ease the uncomfortable pain. Knowing her efforts were wasted, she stuck her tongue at the camera poised on her bed and turned toward the door.

"Visiting hours don't start for ten minutes," Julie informed the figure at the door, who took this as his greeting to make his way into the room.

"Eh, the nurse thought I was hot," Jimmy shrugged as he walked past Julie's roommate, a skater named Jen. The redhead looked up from her book, eyeing Jimmy with interest.

"It was probably one of the interns," Julie guessed. "The idiots. One of them totally screwed my tube up."

"Where's it hurt?" Jen asked, her eyes never leaving the page. Jen had been in the center for nine weeks and the rumor going around the hall was that she was almost ready to be discharged. Julie secretly was scared for the rumor to be true; for the three weeks Julie had now been in treatment, Jen had been her only friend. Everyone else had dubbed her the hallway bitch

"It's not positioned right in my nose," Julie explained. Jimmy took a seat on a chair set at the edge of her bed, pulling it away slightly so he could rest his Vans-clad feet on the plastic foot of her bed. Julie turned her head to eye Jimmy's feet disdainfully.

"Those had better be clean," she said, her voice snippy but the glint of tease in her brown eyes told Jimmy otherwise.

"Don't worry," he assured her. "New shoes, just for the occasion."

Julie rolled her eyes. Jimmy was the only visitor she could tolerate to visit her. She felt somewhat prettier around him. He never brought up her disease, never once mentioned the day he had watched her collapse, the day he had performed CPR and ridden in an ambulance to the hospital with her.

"So, what do I do?" Julie turned back to her roommate. "You're experienced on these things."

Jen rolled her eyes; the feeding tube and she had been friends for a week.

"Just snort really hard and usually the suction from the breath pulls it into a secure place," Jen advised. "But really, Jules. It's almost been two weeks. They won't let you go on pass and your insurance might pull out if you don't."

"Kind of the idea," Julie said. Jen rolled her eyes.

"Seriously, Jules, you've got a smoking' bro and his chick here every other day, your boyfriend...there are so many people aside from your parents who could take you out," Jen reminded. "The tube's not worth it."

It was the first time Jimmy had seen Julie in person with the tube; she had jokingly forwarded him a picture she had taken on her computer, completely against the rules. It had resulted in her losing her computer privileges for two days. Jimmy knew showing his shock seeing her with the medical instrument would only upset or anger her, so he had remained nonchalant.

"Why _do _you still have it?" Jimmy asked, knowing his question was treading into dangerous waters.

Julie turned and answered in a surprisingly patient tone, "I've only been drinking, not eating food food. Pissed the doctor's off."

Jimmy hid his surprise at her tone but Jen guffawed. She had been witness to many a bad visit with Troy and had heard many a bad session with Kristen, Julie's therapist. The only person she was even slightly this calm with was Gabriella, but even then Julie managed to snip and take jabs at her.

"I have no idea how to respond to that," Jimmy answered honestly, "so I'll just keep quiet. One question though: are you allowed to leave your room?"

Julie looked apprehensively toward the door, as if it were the gates to hell.

"Everyone else really doesn't like me," she nearly mumbled. Seeing Jimmy's confused face, Jen put in, "People find her triggering, being so skinny and pretty, not eating, having the tube. It doesn't help she acts snippy."

"It's her defense," Jimmy explained. "I'm sure you've picked up on that."

Jen nodded.

"Julie's perfectly sweet when she's in here," Jen said, waving a hand to indicate the shared room. "I think it's a trust issue, personally, but I'm not her therapist."

"I've told you more than I've told Kristen," Julie informed with a snort. "She's an idiot who's totally in love with my brother. Creepy much?"

Jimmy's face contorted in confusion.

"You're therapist of a cougar in training or something?" he asked. "She's in love with Troy?"

"She keeps inviting him to all of these joint sessions," Julie said. "It's weird."

"Because you refuse to have sessions with your parents!" Jen reminded shrilly. "Like, seriously honey. Kristen needs to make improvements on _some _relationship in your life and since you're refusing sessions with your folks, Troy is the next victim."

"That kind of makes sense," Jimmy agreed tentitively. "I know you don't want to hear it, but it does."

Julie scowled.

"Do you really think they're going to make him take me out this weekend?" she asked, directing the question to Jen, Jimmy assumed, since he had no idea to what she referring.

Jen shrugged and placed her pen and book on the bedside table, replying, "They're going to take you off the tube tomorrow anyway. Today was day ten; that's really the limit they will keep."

"I won't eat," Julie said indignantly.

"They'll make you sit there until you do," Jen retorted. "Seriously, if you're determined to fight the system, figure out another way because they will make your life living hell."

"Um, quick question," Jimmy said, raising a hand as if in class at school. "Who are the 'theys' and 'their's' you are all talking about and what about this weekend?"

"The general pronoun encompasses all of the bitchy staff here," Julie replied with a roll of her eyes. "The doctors are in charge, but their word is law, so the rest of the spineless asses here just follow through."

"They are not spineless asses," Jen replied. "I hate them as much as you do, I'll agree they're inappropriate at times, but they are helping us! After being in a treatment center four times, I'm done with this, Julie, and I wish you would see that life is so much better when all of this is past."

Julie snorted.

"Easy for you to say," she said, crossing her arms, wincing as her IV line was jolted. "You have your boy toy and loving family to return to; I have shit."

Jimmy coughed, causing Jen to smirk.

"So I'm shit now?" he asked. "Real nice to know. I left school early, missing geometry-my worst subject, by the way- to make it up here tonight."

"I know how hard it is and I really am glad you're here," Julie said earnestly. "All I meant was that you can't be here everyday; the people who can kind of hate me at the moment."

"Troy came yesterday?" Jimmy guessed. His visits usually upset Julie, prompting her to put her guard up even more so than she usually did.

"Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday," Jen replied. She stood up, her knees cracking, and slipped into her slippers. "I'm going to go see if the nurses will give me a laxative or something. I'm totally cramped up."

Julie knew this was Jen's subtle excuse of leaving the two to talk.

Jimmy shifted uncomfortably in the leather chair, the material squeaking under his jeans. Julie picked at her nails, the air hanging in uncomfortable silence.

"So..."Jimmy began awkwardly, trying to start up conversation. "What's this about you going out with your brother or something?"

"On pass," Julie said, abandoning her nails and redirecting her gaze to his. "We apply to go out for a few hours on weekends, just to see how well we would do outside the like, quote on quote "rigid environment of the center" or whatever. I haven't gone yet-to medically unstable or something- but at my session today, my therapist mentioned they were going to discuss me going out for two or so hours tomorrow. I'll know around eight or something."

"And you're scared," Jimmy observed. "Either because you just don't want to be around Troy and food, or just the food."

"Both," Julie admitted. "I'm scared because they're going to make me eat and scared because spending two icy hours with Troy."

"Gabriella will go too, I'm guessing," Jimmy said.

"She's not so bad," Julie admitted in a small voice. "I kind of like her. She's the one who brought me some decorations and stuff last visit."

"Well, that's nice," Jimmy agreed. "But why the change of heart? You hated her, from what I saw. And what you screamed. A lot."

Julie grinned.

"Yeah, I was pretty verbal when it came to expressing my feelings about her," Julie said, nodding her head in agreement. "But if I have to do this pass tomorrow, oddly enough, Gabriella is the one person I want there."

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Kristen sat in Dr. Myers' office, head in her hands, the need for an Advil growing by the minute. She was suppose to be off by six, but she had been in session during rounds and the only time Dr. Myers had time to discuss their most difficult patient was now.

"She won't eat," Kristen repeated again. "Even if it's a snack exchange, she won't eat it. She won't."

"I don't want to send her out myself," Dr. Meyers, a middle-aged, graying, kindly old doctor agreed. "The feeding tube is keeping her alive at this point. But the insurance wants to see her go out, or they will refuse to continue to pay and the Bolton's can only do a week tops out of pocket and we both know Julie had a much longer stay in front of her."

Kristen groaned.

"She'll have to go right back on the tube," she said. "Going on pass with her brother is necessary for her psychological needs and I believe the girlfriend will be a great mediator for tomorrow. I still wish we could send her out for a brief meeting and not a meal."

"If the insurance threatens to pull out if she doesn't go on pass, they most definitely will if we send her and she doesn't eat," Dr. Meyers said somberly. "They will tell us she can work on psychological needs during sessions."

"I hate these companies that think every case is alike, that they can have the same policies for each patient without coming to understand the actually recovery process!" Kristen cried. "It is quite frustrating."

Dr. Meyers nodded and looked above Kristen's head at the analog clock mounted on the wall.

"Visiting hours are almost over," he observed. "We should tell Julie and call Mr. Bolton."

Kristen nodded and stood, closing Julie's file and placing it back on the rack.

"If she is to not eat tomorrow, she will be put back on the tube and as she is meeting all of her fruit requirements through juice, we know she will drink."

"The drink will become a supplement," Kristen finished, knowing where the doctor's thoughts were heading. "Fair enough."

"I will call Mr. Bolton," the doctor continued. "He needs to be briefed on what to do should something happen."

"Talk to the girlfriend too," Kristen added. "I have a hunch Julie's going to be talking to her a bit more tomorrow than Troy. Things are a still a bit tense."

Dr. Meyers cocked an eyebrow.

"Okay, more than a bit tense," Kristen admitted. "It's so quiet during sessions I almost welcome the screaming when it comes."

Dr. Meyers chuckled at the thought of the fighting siblings. Young Julie was an interesting girl.

"You're doing well, Kristen," Dr. Meyers said kindly to the young, somewhat frazzled therapist. "Hang in there."

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"Troy, if you spill any chow mien on my computer, I will hurt you," Gabriella warned, shifting the carton away from her laptop. Clare, as usual, was out with Adrian, engaged in some activity or another. Troy was leaning over Gabriella's shoulder, eating Chinese out of the carton, the rest of the order waiting, unopened, on her bed.

"Sorry," Troy muffled, his mouth full. He stuck the chopsticks into the carton, placed the container back on her bed, swallowed, and returned to his position of hovering over her shoulder. "Are you done yet? Why do you law students get so much homework?"

"Because our professors hate us," Gabriella replied, her eyes scanning a textbook page before adding a few more words to the already lengthy paper opened on her screen. "I'm sorry, really. But you could have waited."

"I was training from five until seven thirty!" Troy whined. "I am hungry and you're taking forever."

"I'm almost done," she said. "And if you would stop distracting me, I'd be quicker."

Gabriella got somewhat snippy when she was trying to get work done. She really wanted to finish; Chinese and a horny boyfriend were awaiting her.

Troy leaning closer, kneeling down. He was still as tall as Gabriella was sitting in her chair. At this moment, the loved their height difference.

"Alright than," Troy said, kissing her neck. "I'll stop talking and eating, since that's such a distraction for you."

Gabriella tried to keep her thoughts straight, looking for more quotes and facts to cite from her page, typing another line or two. Her fingers stopped as Troy sucked slightly, causing her intake a breath.

_Screw lawyers, _she thought, slamming the lid of her Mac down before turning and grabbing Troy's face, one hand entwining through his hair. He was taken by surprise, having expected her to yell at him and go away so she could finish, but he was pleased and excited all the same. He stood, coming off of his knees, bringing Gabriella with him. The bed was littered with Chinese, so Troy pressed her against the wall, bracing himself by putting a hand on either side of her head. She jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist, his hand moving to support her back.

"What happened to know guilt sex?" he breathed, moving to her neck again.

"Screw it," she replied, her eyes closing. "And this definitely is not qualified as guilt sex."

His hands moved to her stomach, Gabriella's body craving more. His hands ghosted over her stomach when his cell went off.

Gabriella let her legs loose, falling off of him. Normally she would curse off Chad or the caller, but with Julie in the hospital, there was a high change that that was where the call was coming from.

Troy sighed and drew his phone from his pocket, running a hand through his hair before opening it with a somewhat annoyed, "Hello?"

Gabriella leaned against the wall next to him, watching his face remain passive for a minute or so before his eyes widened and he sank to the ground. Gabriella sat next to him.

Troy replied with only agreements and a few questions, medically related, so Gabriella knew the conversation concerned Julie. She waited patiently for the call to end, watching as Troy closed the phone and stared at the wall opposite him.

"We're taking Julie on pass tomorrow," Troy said. "Have to or the insurance is threatening to stop pay. 'Just three hours, a small snack.' The doctor said that she probably will resist eating, so he warned me what to do if she faints or her heart like, stops or something, or her legs collapse. No pressure, right?"

Gabriella wrapped an arm around his shoulders and kissed his cheek, toying with the hair at the base of his neck as she said, "I'm going to be there, okay? We can do this. Julie can do this. She has to."

* * *

So....yeah. Hope you all liked. The next chapter will focus mainly on Julie's pass, which is the next day. I have a little twist in store which I hope you will all find interesting. I have loved writing this. The words, once I start, literally just flow. This was six pages on word. The next chap might be around four, so about two thousand and a half words vs. over three.

Love you all~R&R

-youMEANeverything14


	5. Chapter 5

le maniera l'amo

Chapter Five

Disclaimer: All characters affiliated with the High School Musical franchise are not mine. Original character and plots are.I'm

**I'm aware of the total delay in updates, but my life has been nuts and this story is hard for me to write. I have decided not to dive to much into the eating disorder aspect of things, meaning a chapter will never focus on Julie's passes, mealtimes, or struggles with food. I am instead focusing on the psychological effects on she, the family, and friends.**

**There won't be a delay like this again, I promise, and I'm grateful for those who have been patient with me.**

* * *

"Mr. Zara! _Mr. Zara!" _

Jimmy's head came up with a snap and he looked around to find the classroom empty, his biology teacher Ms. Marshall gazing at him sternly through her tortoise shell glasses.

"Class has been dismissed, Mr. Zara," she informed him, stating the obvious. Jimmy stood and gathered his books, replying, "Um, yeah. Thanks. Sorry, I'll go."

He took a step in the direction of the door but was stopped by Ms. Marshall's hand pushing him down into a chair.

"This is the second time this week, Jimmy," she said, folding her arms, the demeaning power as she stood above him. "I'm concerned. Your grades are declining rapidly and you know that in order to play basketball, even to try out, you must maintain a decent average."

Jimmy nodded, stifling a yawn.

"I understand," he said. "I'll try harder. Promise."

"Words, Mr. Zara, all words. You've said the same things for weeks now, ever since the first F of the year. Late homework, missing days of school and handing in in-completed assignments...Mr. Zara, what is going on? If something is occurring in your life that requires medical or psychological help-"

"Everything's fine," Jimmy cut in, his voice hard. Several teachers had approached him over the course of the past few weeks, those who knew of Julie's whereabouts and his connection to the situation, said staff members excusing his work habit. Others, to whom Coach Bolton had not shared the information with, had constantly been on Jimmy as of late. And he was sick of it. "I'm fine, really. Late night. Video games."  
Ms. Marshall looked down skeptically, her eyes questioning. Jimmy held her gaze, refusing to back down. After several moments of silence, Jimmy asked, "Can I go? I have free period work out."

Ms. Marshall nodded and called to his back as he dashed out the door, "Things better change, Mr. Zara!"

Jimmy rolled his eyes as he wove his way down the hall, coming to stop at his locker where Donny Dion stood, waving his friend over.

"Hey, man!" the small boy greeted, holding his hand out. Jimmy high fived him and the two preceded to exchange their complicated handshake consisting of various high-fives and other moves, clearly resembling the handshake exchanged between Chad Danforth and Troy Bolton over the years.

"You okay?" Donny asked, picking up on his friend's frustrated look and slumped stance as Jimmy leaned wearily back against his locker.

"Marshall's being a piss off," Jimmy spat. "Getting on my case again, all "Mr. Zara, your grades" yada yada yah. Driving me crazy. Third teacher this week."

"How _have _you been doing, though?" Donny asked. "How's Julie been?"

Jimmy moaned and closed his eyes, slamming his head back against the metal of his locker.

"That bad?" Donny assumed.

"She's been better, yeah," Jimmy answered, his eyes still closed. "She's fine with me, but whenever her brother's there, it's hell. She won't talk. And her therapist's plan is to make things all fly with them again, so Troy, me, and Gab have to go in for a session this weekend."

Jimmy had been sworn to secrecy by the Bolton's on their daughter's whereabouts, as Lucille and Jack wanted the true reason for their daughter's absence to remain quiet for as long as possible. For the first few weeks, Jimmy had been quiet, seeing Julie once a week. But as visits increased and school started, Jack had seen what Jimmy was being put through and agreed that he could confide in Donny Dion. Donny, in turn, had stepped up to the occasion and had been listening to Jimmy's every frustration and complaint.

"Man, with basketball and school, plus the drives to L.A, how are you keeping it up?" Donny asked in amazement. "You ain't Superman, dude, although at this rate, you'll give him a run or his money."

"I'm just telling myself it'll all be worth it in the end," Jimmy sighed.

"And to think no one even asked you to be doing all of this." Both boys turned to peer around the corner, as Donny's locker was on the end. Around the bend stood Tiara Gold, hip cocked out, a sympethetic pout on her face as she smirked at the two boys. "You really must be crazy about her."

"How long have been standing here?" Jimmy demanded, his heart pounding. That was all he needed: East High's biggest gossip knowing where Julie was. Coach would have his head.

"Long enough to know Marshall's being a bitch, but I'm sure it's merely due to her time of the month," Tiara said. "As for being worried I heard about the girl, I've known. Poor little Julie, all alone in the hos-"

Donny and Jimmy each grabbed one of her arms, Jimmy silencing her with his other hand, leading the protesting blond down the hall into an empty classroom. Donny released her right arm to shut the door while Jimmy spun her around and sat her down in a seat.

"How do you know about Julie?" Jimmy demanded instantly. "No one besides Coach Bolton and I know anything."

"And me!" Donny reminded, coming to Jimmy's side.

"And Donny."

Tiara sat back in the chair, crossing her legs, her pout deepening.

"You didn't have to drag me into an empty classroom," Tiara argued.

"Yes, we did," Jimmy said, placing a hand on the desk and squatting as so to be at the same eye level as Tiara. "No one is suppose to know and talking about it obnoxiously in the hallway kinda defeats that whole plan."

"So how did you find out?" Donny pressed, pulling himself onto the desk top beside Tiara's.

The Brit flung her hair behind her left shoulder and recrossed her legs before replying.

"I stayed late after rehearsal to talk to Ms. Darbus. I had left my sheet music on the piano in the choir room, so I went to collect it, and when I returned, Coach Bolton was talking with Ms. Darbus and I couldn't help but overhear!"

"You were eavesdropping," Jimmy concluded flatly.

"Well, if you must give it a name," Tiara huffed. "Look, I haven't told anyone! But now that I know it upsets you so..."  
"You wouldn't." Jimmy's face went white. He had a high tolerance level when it came to practical jokes-the infamous towel dash of last spring- but this was pushing even his limit.

"Seriously, that's cold, even for you," Donny added.

"It's cold even for _me._"

All three heads turned to the doorway, their mouths falling open as they took in the sight of the pink sundress, matching leather jacket and purse, and platform shoes, blond hair held back by a clip.

"Jeez, do blonds just have a magical power that allows them to appear out of nowhere?" Donny questioned as Sharpay Evens clicked into the room. "This is the second time in ten minutes!"

Sharpay Evens took in the scene before her, locking in an icy glare with Tiara, taking note of the junior's flaxen hair and labeled clothing, seeing more and more of her old self in the girl. Donny Dion, on the other hand, had changed little, still small and dark, with a big personality, hanging on Jimmy's side. And Jimmy...Sharpay barely recognized the boy. On the outside, his appearance was unchanged; the same grungy yet crisp skater look, the long hair held back by the knit hat. Jimmy's face, though, had aged. There were bags under his eyes, and Sharpay felt as if every worry line had deepened. The pain she saw, though, scared her the most. The boy had gone through so much, as had Sharpay. They both had changed.

"You were suppose to meet me in the music room," Sharpay reminded the blond. "I'm coaching your vocals, remember?"

"I was on my way," Tiara informed. "And then these two dragged me in here."

"For good reason, I'm sure," Sharpay retorted. "And if that reason includes information Julie Bolton-none of which you should know-one slip of the tongue and Kiera O'Neill will be taking your curtain call next month."

At the mention of her understudy's name, Tiara's mouth fell open, revealing a wad of gum.

"You wouldn't!" she gasped, dramatically putting a hand to her chest.

"Try me," Sharpay said coldly. "You forget I invented blackmailing. If Ms. Darbus finds out you heard the news you did, you'd have much worse happen to you than merely getting thrown out of the show. It's better this way."

Tiara shook her head in disbelief before standing, shouldering her bag, and stalking out of the room, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

"It looks like she had a twitching problem," Donny observed, causing Sharpay to crack a small smile. She turned to the boys.

"Are you heading up to see Julie this weekend?" she asked Jimmy, who looked at her warily.

"Um, yeah, why?" he asked. "How do you know-?"  
"That's not important," Sharpay said, dismissing the question with a wave of her hand. "Do you need a ride though? I can bring you up if you need. The bus can get a bit pricey."

"Um, thanks. That'd be helpful."

"Great. Eight o' clock Friday night, then. We're crashing in Troy's dorm."

Jimmy's mouth fell open, no sound coming out, questions going unanswered as Sharpay clicked out of the room.

Dion let out a low whistle as she left.

"You are _back, _my man!"

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

_A day earlier...._

"I cannot believe you went behind his back. Aren't you both like, totally whipped?"

Gabriella let out a dry laugh and fingered the thin plastic card in her hands.

"I wouldn't go that far," she said slowly, redirecting her gaze to meet Julie's piercing blue gaze. The young girl was wrapped in thick knitted blankets, courtesy of a care packet Ms. Montez had sent up. She had been in the ward now for four weeks, at a time many girls had begun to show some improvement. Julie, while having decent visits with Gabriella and Jimmy, had remained resistant to cooperating with Troy and her visits were disastrous, her weight fluctuating. Gabriella could visibly see the strain Julie was putting her family through, as Troy slept nearly all the time and Mr. and Mrs. Bolton seemed to have aged a decade before her very eyes.

"Hm. Sure." Julie reached over, her thin, boney wrist peeking out of her sweatshirt sleeve, plucking the card from Gabriella's fingertips.

"You're also the only person who would manage to look this good in a driver's license photo," Julie added, laying a finger on the grainy image of Gabriella, who, even though she wasn't smiling, looked beautiful and simple. "I'm sure Troy would like, frame this or something."

"Yes, well, he doesn't know yet," Gabriella reminded. "And I'm a little scared to witness his reaction."

"Why would he be upset that you got your license?" Julie asked, her voice hardening as she spoke of her brother. "He's that protective? Doesn't trust you at the wheel or something?"

Gabriella shook her head, the elastic wrapped around her ponytail loosing around her curls. She yawned, deprived of sleep, before responding.

"No, he's been bugging me to get it since summer before senior year. He'll be glad but..."

"The fact that you came to visit me on your own-you're worried that might piss him off," Julie finished flatly for her. Gabriella nodded, confirming her statement. "Why?"

"I don't even know." Gabriella's voice came out in a low rasp, a sign that Julie knew well from various therapy groups, meaning she was slowly tearing up. "Maybe because I've been able to connect with you and Troy hasn't...he's frustrated with you and I'm worried it's going to be taken out on me, because I cam to see you without him or something and-"

"Gab, chill," Julie cut in, laying a cold hand on Gabriella's arm. "It's funny how the girl with therapists at her disposial doesn't talk, and here you are, no therapist, spilling everything."

Gabriella raised an eyebrow.

"Things would be much easier if you _did _talk," Gabriella said sternly, brushing her fringe out of her eyes. "Bottling things inside is part of the reason you're sitting here, with your brother falling into depression and your parents slowly going senial."

Julie opened her mouth to retort but Gabriella held up her hand.

"You have group this weekend with your parents, Troy and I, and Jimmy," she reminded. "I'm not talking about this now. I can't. I shouldn't have brought it up and I apologize."

Julie's gaze never faltered but Gabriella could tell from set of her mouth-a hard line-that her words were having an effect, however small.

"Troy won't be mad," were the next words that Julie spoke, as if Gabriella hadn't even mentioned her parents or her brother's pressing problem, something she wouldn't have normally ignored commenting on. "He's frustrated, yeah, but he channels it differently. He cares for you to much. It won't come out on you, don't worry."

"And you know this how? You _were_ out of his life for nearly eight years," she reminded. Julie looked down at her hands and pulled her sweatshirt sleeves over them, a gesture she had confessed to use when she felt overexposed, a habit Kristen had been determined to have her break. Gabriella lay a gentle hand on her arm as a reminder, but Julie clenched the cloth even more tightly.

"Because he did the same thing when I first left," Julie said softly. Gabriella pulled her hand away and inclined her head to try to capture the girl's gaze.

"He was frustrated when you first left? I thought he really didn't care," Gabriella said.

"You heard the abridged, public version of the story that my parents tell everyone because the other version pries a bit to deeply into several people's personal histroy," Julie went on. "The real story involves an old classmate of yours- Sharpay Evans?"

"What about her?"

Julie took a deep breath and continued.

"She was like my older sister, 'cause Troy was doing a bit of a lousy job, to say the least. We went to the same dance studio and she did hang with Troy a bit, so I saw her."

"You leaving had nothing to do with the dance studio, than?"

"It did, but it was more convenient timing than anything. Sharpay...Sharpay developed some unhealthy habits, if you will. EDNOS."

Gabriella's face shifted to a mask of confusion, Julie catching this.

"Eating disorder not otherwise specified," Julie elaborated softly, watching as Gabriella's mouth fell open, her surprise evident.

"It never go so bad as mine," Julie went on. "Nutrition, therapy. She's been fine. But my parents got worried because I was around her so much and watched what she ate, heard her talk about her weight. They thought she'd grow to be a bad influence. So they sent me with my aunt. The dance was a reason, but not the full,"

"And Troy...?" Gabriella asked.

"He was so angry with my parents for not giving Sharpay a chance," Julie said. "But I remember him saying, "They're my parents! I can't get mad at them!" So he took the frustration out on Sharpay. He couldn't stand up my parents."

"And he can now?" Gabriella asked, her tone tinged with worry as she thought of the confrontations she had witnessed between Coach Bolton and his son over many things.

"He can, I guess," Julie agreed. "But he won't turn the frustration to you, because he doesn't blame you."

"Who does he blame?" Gabriella knew she was prodding, but Julie was talking, a rare occasion. She barely opened up to anyone, even Gabriella, with whom she was on better terms than most.

Julie mumbled something incoherant and Gabriella looked at her expectantly before she closed her eyes for a moment and repeated audibly, "I wanted Sharpay to visit me and my parents said no. Troy got mad because he thinks Sharpay would be a good support."

Gabriella, upon hearing this, initially thought she would feel anger when she heard that Troy hadn't told her this. But she realized it was a private matter within the Bolton family and Troy had admitted to increasing aggravated feelings with his parents, but never saying over what.

Julie eyes were still closed and she leaned back against the pillows on her bed.

"Do you want Sharpay here?" Gabriella asked, putting a hand on Julie's clothing-layered arm. Julie nodded, opening her eyes, a single tear falling down her cheek.

"She's the only one I really want to talk too," Julie admitted, her voice cracking. "Not that you haven't been great and all, but you're also tied because of my brother. You side with him and part of you is mad at what I'm doing to my family. I know that. Sharpay won't judge and she just _get's it! _But I'm not allowed to see her!"

Julie bent over, head in her hands, as Gabriella patted her back, feeling the visit was coming to a close.

"I'll go, okay?" she told Julie softly, Julie nodded into her hands. "I'll call later, as usual, okay?"

After collecting her purse from the front desk, Gabriella stepped into the fading fall light, making her way toward Troy's truck as she scrolled through her phone book, hitting send when she came to the required number.

"Sharpay? Any chance you have a minute to talk?"

* * *

**Comments will be much appreciated, and FYI, Troy's hint and depression will be taken further and Sharpay is healthy and fine. If you do the math, she was around 11 or 12 when she had the initial struggles with food. It is my feelings that she would have had some issues occuring in her life with I will elaborate on later, I promise.**

**Let me know what you thought! Much love.**

**-youMEANeverything14**


	6. Chapter 6

le maniera l'amo

Chapter Six

Disclaimer: All characters affiliated with the High School Musical franchise are not mine. Original character and plots are.I'm

**So the delay was NOT as long this time!! Yes, the chapter is a bit short but I'm actually quite proud of the final scene-you'll see. I think my writing stayed in character, but I'm not the judge here. Let me know!!!!**

* * *

Chapter Six

Julie shifted, the phone pressed between her shoulder and ear, as she attempted to find a comfortable position on her bed, the phone cord tangling around the bedside rail. The phone reminded Julie of something out of the 50's or 60's; white, with a long cord, plastic. Its position on her bedside table, adjacent to her bed, made it hard to lay back and talk without risking strangulation.

"Um, hey Gab," Julie greeted tentatively, biting her lip. She looked up into the camera angled at her bed and stuck out her tongue, resisting the urge to flash another, more inappropriate gesture. "Are you back at Troy's dorm yet?"

_"Yeah, why?" _came the reply. Gabriella sounded pleasantly surprised to hear her asking for her brother. "_We were going to call after dinner, like we usually do, since I know no one is visiting tonight._"

"You were here earlier; it's not a big deal," Julie said dismissively. "But I can wait, if you guys are heading out to the cafeteria or something…"

"_No, no, it's fine! I'm just surprised to hear from you, that's all," _Gabriella explained.

"Yeah, I'm surprised I even made the call," Julie admitted. "Shocking all around, then."

"_Well, Troy just got out of the shower. He's right here if you want him."_

Julie was grateful Gabriella was giving her a choice; talking to her brother without 'supervision' tended to result in a wildfire of verbal abuse. She knew it would be easy to just say goodbye and wait for their call later, avoiding the vocal encounter all together, but something that had been on her mind ever since Gabriella had departed and she needed to address it with her brother.

"Um, can you put him on?" Julie asked, taking a deep breath as she heard the phone being passed from Gabriella to her brother.

_"Julie?" _ She knew from his tone that he was flat-out in awe that she had willingly requested to talk to him, and then was an edge to his voice that sent a warning of a guard being put up; his experience from therapy sessions was serving him well.

"Hey, Troy," she said softly. "I, uh, guess you heard Gab came up to see my earlier?"

_"I did, yeah. She said you were feeling better," _Troy replied, keeping the conversation civil.

"I finally slept through the night," Julie shared. "The night sweats are awful, though. It scares me a bit, I won't lie."

Standing in the center of his dorm room, Troy nearly dropped his towel, his eyes opening wide in shock. Gabriella dropped her book and stood up quickly from her spot on the bed, coming to Troy's side.

"What?" she mouthed, Troy shaking his head, indicating to the phone that he would tell her after.

"Um, I guess they'll go away," Troy offered lamely, unsure of how to answer. This was the most Julie had ever shared with him alone, no telling Gabriella and just having him listen in, or Kristen, prodding her to share. Not only had she told him something occurring in the ward, she had even expressed her fear, something Julie had worked to hide, it seemed.

_"I hope._ " Julie's voice sounded small and faint; the conversation clearly wasn't easy for her. _"And Mom and Dad aren't coming this weekend, so they can't request to have my anxiety medicine dose made higher."_

"Is that something I could ask?" Troy wondered. "If it'll make you more comfortable, I'll talk to Kristen when I'm up there again."

_"You're not my legal medical proxy,'_ Julie informed him somberly. _"Even if you are over eighteen."_

"I'll talk to Mom and Dad and have them call up, okay?" Troy promised. "If you really feel that crappy, they should give you something. Aren't you suppose to be able to talk to your doctor if you feel like you need a higher dose of something?"

_"I had that privilege revoked," _Julie explained. _"I was being too stubborn or something, so Mom and Dad have control now."_

"I'll give them a call," Troy repeated. "You don't mind them not coming?"

_"I didn't want to see them anyway," _Julie said. _"Meetings with Kristen are pain in the ass enough with them there."_

"Still pissed at them, then?"

Julie snorted. _"Hell, yes."_

"Jimmy's coming up," Troy added, "so group should be pretty full."

_"Kristen's going to literally orgasm over that," _Julie moaned. _"And you people are all going to gang up on me again."_

"We didn't gang up on you," Troy said flatly. "We were pointing out that your sick and totally screwed psychologically. Not my problem if you don't believe me."

_"Because I'm not 'screwed,_" Julie retorted. _"And I hate it when Kristen acts like I'm a basket case, because I'm not. Our family's messed up; so what? A lot of people's are and they're not in therapy!"_

"I'm not doing this now. I'll see you Saturday." Troy handed the phone back to Gabriella and ran a hand through his wet hair, a nervous habit. He dressed as Gabriella finished off the call to Julie, feeling her arms circle his waist, seeing the phone placed back on his nightstand.

"Are you okay?" she asked softly as Troy turned and pulled her into his arms, resting his chin on the crown of her head, Gabriella's face pressed into his chest.

"Fine," Troy sighed. "I'm guessing she gave you the thirty second summary."

Gabriella nodded and looked up at him.

"Two steps forward, one step back," she quoted, rubbing his shoulder. He sighed, frustrated, and ran a hand through his wet hair.

"I wish stepping back weren't even an option," Troy complained. Gabriella ran her own hand through his hair and laced her fingers through his. Troy closed his eyes, shuddering at her touch.

"I know we said no emotional sex," Gabriella murmured, coming closer, pressing herself up against his bare chest. Her hands slid down his still slick chest, coming to rest at his waistline, toying with the frayed cotton edge of the towel wrapped around his waist. "But if you really want to make an exception, I'm willing..."

Troy had already pulled her onto the bed.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Scenery flashed by in blurs of color and shape as Sharpay drove her ostentatious pink Mustang through state after state, en route to California. CDs were listened through numerous times, Jimmy changing them after the forth cycle around. The dashboard clocked changed hour after hour, the outside changing color in accordance, going from the bright yellow of late afternoon, fading to twilight, deepening to inky black as the night took hold.

Sharpay kept her eyes on the road, subconsciously pressing the volume button loudly, giving little thought to the sleeping boy next to her as the CD of show tunes growing in sound, her mind focusing on the familiar words that were permanently ingrained into her memory, numbing her mind from drifting to think other thoughts she didn't want to focus on.

Jimmy stirred as her arm brushed his when she reached down for her coffee cup, brushing aside two empty cardboard containers as she did so, taking a sip of the now lukewarm liquid, wincing as the bitter taste slid down her throat.

"Cheap gas station crap," she mumbled, setting it back down in the cup holder, gripping the steering wheel tightly as yet another sign pointed the way toward Los Angeles, indicating the amount of miles yet to go.

Jimmy stirred again and emitted a groan as he awake, yawning loudly, causing Sharpay to glance down at him, rolling her eyes. _Typical teenage boy._

"What time is it?" Jimmy asked, his voice raspy from sleep, glancing out the window, unable to see anything due to the dark of night.

"2:36," Sharpay told him with a glance at the dashboard. "We're somewhere in Arizona, probably crossing over into California within the hour."

"And from there how long?"

Sharpay shrugged.

"Six hours, tops," she replied. "Or that's what I'm hoping for. Lord knows with the screwy directions Troy sent me."

"I could drive if you get tired," Jimmy offered.

Sharpay snorted.

"The day I let you drive my 1K car is the day Tiara Gold wins the Oscar," she snipped.

"There's the bitchy Sharpay I know and love," Jimmy teased, punching her lightly in the shoulder. "And did you say 1K?"

"My father _does _own a country club," Sharpay reminded. "But that's not the point. What do you mean I'm 'back to the bitch you know and love?'"

"You were being all weird and sweet the other day," Jimmy explained. Sharpay turned to look at him and even in the dim light, Jimmy could see her skeptical look.

"Okay, so 'sweet' isn't the word," he amended. "But the way you acted with Dion and me was so not you. I mean, five months ago you literally ran away from me."

"People change," was all Sharpay offered in way of response. "Sometimes there is more to life than theatre, Jimmy."

"Whoa, what Kool-Aid are you drinking?" Jimmy asked. "Something's more important than the glitter and leotards?"

"Why is it that all you lunkheads automatically associate theatre with leotards?" Sharpay questioned, thinking of the time someone had told her Troy was worried he'd have to wear a leotard in _Twinkle Towne, _per Chad Danforth's word; she had tried her hardest to make it a reality. "Something in _your _Kool-Aid?"

"Okay, cut it with the drink jokes," Jimmy said, holding up a hand. "I have to pee and I know you're not going to stop."

"You're damn right about that," Sharpay said. "If I stop, I'll crash and you will _not _touch the wheel."

"Wasn't going to," Jimmy assured. "I don't want to reach California; I'll just turn the car around and head back home."

The mood of the conversation shifted from playful and teasing to serious as Sharpay asked in a quiet voice, "Why are you so scared about seeing Julie? You've been up here before."

"Yeah, and every time I do she just looks worse, acts bitchier, and I don't know what to do!" Jimmy voice rose in volume as his statement progressed. "I'm doing what I can, but she won't work, won't try. It's killing me!"

Sharpay tightened her grip on the wheel before replying, "I know it's hard right now and everything seems completely screwed, almost to a point of being unfixable. But you need to be patient and supportive-if this is hard for you, it's nearly ten times as hard a fight for Julie. These things take time and, since Julie's relationship with her family isn't where it should be, you have to step in and be there for her."

Jimmy nodded slowly, letting Sharpay's words slowly take on meaning, not daring to retort with a witty comment about "how brunette she sounded," for her words did make sense and sounded as if they were coming from experience, for Jimmy was sure that the finer points of learning to cope with having a someone close deal with an eating disorder didn't come from a book and if it did, Sharpay probably hadn't read it.

"These things take time," Sharpay repeated quietly again to herself, biting her lip, a habit she resorted to only in times of extreme stress.

"It's like what my mom told me, after my dad died," Jimmy said after a few moments of silence.

"What would that be?" Sharpay asked, hiding the surprise upon hearing Jimmy was living with a single parent.

"She told me, "Time heals all wounds Jimmy" and maybe it'll be true in Jules' case," he mused. "I hope so."

"'Time heals all wounds,'" Sharpay parroted. "I certainly hope so, for your sake and mine."

"Why your sake?"

"Let's just say that I will not be the Bolton's favorite person for quite some time after this little rendezvous," Sharpay said, turning up the radio. "God help the outcasts."

* * *

**If anyone can tell me what the final line is a reference to, you'll be quite the amazing person if I do say so myself.**

**The trailer for the new Vanessa Hudgens movie 'Bandslam,' is out, and I totally recomend checking it out!! Along with the trailer, visit for the latest Z and V scoop. I love that site and it is my dream to have this voted as the Fan Fic of the Week on there!! This, or Thank the Star, but probably this, as it is heavier and I love the character writing I have been doing.**

**Hearts to you all!!! Happy St. Paddy's Day if I don't post before then!**

**-youMEANeveything14**

**P.S. Check out my new avatar. It's a combo of all three of my fave couples here on fanfic!! So proud of it.**


	7. Chapter 7

le maniera l'amo

Chapter Seven

Disclaimer: All characters affiliated with the High School Musical franchise are not mine. Original character and plots are.I'm

**Wow, I'm posting quickly!!! I might not get another chapter up until next weekend, so think of this as your weekday fix. The reviews were very interesting-some very actual predicitons that might occur. Just wait and read!!!**

* * *

Chapter Seven

Julie drew her knees to her chest, silence hanging like a thick fog in the air as Gabriella and Troy sat by her bedside, Gabriella resting her head on Troy's shoulder. A thick, heavy silence hung in the air, suffocating the room, it seemed. Gabriella laced her fingers through Troy's, eager to return to bed; she was exhausted. But since Jimmy -and consequently Sharpay- were running late, Gabriella felt Julie needed someone to be with her until her boyfriend came. Even if she wasn't outwardly admitting it, Gabriella could tell that not seeing her parents for a week was clearly upsetting Julie.

"Have you talked to Jimmy this week?" Gabriella asked Julie tentitively, desperate to break the uncomfortable silence. Julie nodded, keeping her gaze directed downward as she replied, "He called me after practice one day. He made varsity."

"Good for him!" Gabriella said, nudging Troy in the sign in attempt to pull some form of conversation out.

"Yeah, great," Troy agreed halfheartedly, resting his elbows on his knees as leaned his head into his hands. Gabriella rubbed his back soothingly. She could almost feel the awkward and uncomfortable vibes emitting off from both of the Bolton siblings.

"Julie!" The perky, excited voice coming from the doorway caused the three to jump and turn to see Jen, her eyes open wide, her mouth forming and 'Oh!' as she looked to Julie and said, "Oh, God, sorry! I just-I'm getting discharged on Tuesday! If that matters...bad timing..."

"No, no!" Julie shifted her position to sit on her knees, facing her roommate with a small smile. "That's awesome, Jen. Really happy for you. Honest. You deserve it."

"Yeah, third time's the charm!" Jen joked, going to her bedside table to pick up a notebook. "Well, I'll leave you be for now. Talk to you after your visitors leave?"

"Jimmy's coming, so it might have to be after dinner," Julie said apologetically. "But go share the good news. We'll catch up."

Jen nodded and gave a small wave of goodbye to Troy and Gabriella, who returned the gesture, and watched as the young girl left the room.

"Third time?" Gabriella repeated in slight disbelief. "She's been here twice before?"

Julie nodded.

"She's struggled with this over half her life," Julie said quietly as Gabriella gaped.

"So you'll just be in here alone after she leaves?" Troy asked, surveying Jen's half of the room. "Won't that get kind of lonely?"

Julie shrugged.

"I'm sure someone else will come in sooner or later," she said with a shrug. "The waiting list is always a mile long. The bed will fill."

"Not that I'd mind you having your own room." Julie stood up on her knees to see who was at the doorway and smiled fully for the first time in a long while as the lanky form of Jimmy Zara entered the room.

"Hey," she greeted, springing off the bed, grabbing the front of Jimmy's polo and pulling his further into the room, sticking her tongue up at the corner camera before pressing a soft kiss to his lips. "You're late."

"Um, y-yeah," Jimmy stammered, nervously adjusting his beanie. "Traffic. But I brought someone I think you'll want to see."

Julie looked at him skeptically as she pulled him down to sit on the bed next to her.

"If this is some cheesy teen movie stunt and you've got half the junior class waiting outside..." she said in a warning tone but Jimmy shook his head, inclining it towards the door. Julie turned her head, her eyebrows knitting together, her mouth falling open as she took in the person standing before her.

"Hey, Julie," Sharpay greeted awkwardly, adjusting her weight from one Manolo to the other as she bit her lip. "Long time, no see, huh."

Upon seeing Sharpay, both Bolton siblings had sprung up; Julie in disbelief to her knees, and Troy to his feet, hands clenched into tight fists at his sides.

"What are you doing here?" he growled. "My parents said they didn't want you here."

"I didn't come here on my own," Sharpay assured him, walking further into the room, meeting Troy's icy gaze. "I know not to cross boundaries when they're set."

"Boundaries didn't stop you in high school," Troy shot back.

"Important boundaries. Ones that are actually relevant, not trivial high school matters," Sharpay elaborated. "I respected your parent's wishes. But I also obliged to another's request."

"And who's would that be?" Troy questioned, folding his arms across his thin t-shirt, his bangs falling across his eye. Gabriella brushed them tenderly out of his face and informed him in a soft voice, "I asked her to come."

Troy turned to his girlfriend, disbelief lacing his gaze.

"_Why?" _he asked. "You and Sharpay never got along in high school. Why would you call her?"

"Your sister told me the story, of when they were younger," Gabriella answered. "Julie needs help, Troy, and yes, she's in the hospital. But mentally, she doesn't want this. She feels alone-you see it! You know how hard this is. And she wanted to see Sharpay-she was the one person she wanted to see."

Troy turned to his sister, who merely nodded in answer to his unspoken question. Troy met Sharpay's gaze and shook his head before grabbing his cell phone from it's place on the arm of a chair and storming out of the room.

Gabriella looked after his retreating form, mentally regretting the phone call and the events of the past few days. She looked down, closing her eyes to try to hold back tears. She was not weak, never one for opening crying, especially when her problems were so mundane compared to Julie's.

"Go talk to him," Sharpay advised, coming to her comrade's side, a hand on her shoulder as Julie and Jimmy looked on, worry creasing their faces. "He'll calm down."

Gabriella nodded and sniffed, squaring her shoulders as she waved to Julie before turning to follow her boyfriend down the hall.

Sharpay turned, placing her trench coat and large hobo bag on the chair that Troy had just vacated before perching on the edge of Julie's bed, arms out. Julie immediately entered her embrace, the two hugging as long-lost sisters would, which in a sense, the pair were.

"Thanks for coming," Julie said earnestly.

"Your parents are going to permanently hate me," Sharpay told her. "You do know that."

Julie nodded and rolled her eyes.

"My parents and I have differing opinions on life," Julie said.

"_Everyone _has differing opinions with your parents," Jimmy said. "Seriously. I'm talking major differences here-running three miles and lifting for an hour and a half doesn't cut it with your dad. It's usually oh, I don't know, five or six miles _and then _two hours of weights."

"Well, it shows, dancer boy," Sharpay teased, punching Jimmy lightly on the shoulder before turning back to Julie. "But seriously, sweetie, I'm breaking every rule ever set down here."

"My parents have different priorities than I do," Julie said somberly, picking at a loose thread in her bedspread. "I don't want to be here, need to be here, or have an intention of letting this place help me."

Sharpay placed her hand over Julie's and locked eyes with Julie's baby blues.

"And that's why I'm here," Sharpay said. "To help you fight this and come out strong. I know you don't see a problem to be fixed, but the rest of us do. And since I'll be on your parent's 'Most Wanted List' until I'm dead, I'm not leaving without putting a fight, okay? Sharpay Evans does not back down and I will not leave you alone through this."

"We're all here for you, Jules. We want you back," Jimmy said quietly. "It's affecting everyone. Look at Troy and Gabriella and the strain that's been put on their relationship."

Sharpay shot him a sharp look, clearly reading that this was not the time to discuss this matter. Jimmy continued, though, without pause.

"It's hurting everyone, most of all you. And we're here. We just want you back. Reach out. Talk to us!"

Julie closed her eyes for a moment before opening them, a sad look crossing her gaze.

"I'm here," she nearly whispered. "There's no one to get back. This is me now."

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"Troy!"

Gabriella caught up with her boyfriend in the parking lot, squinting as the afternoon sun beat into her eyes. Troy spun around, his eyes shaded by his Ray Bans, his gaze therefore unreadable. Gabriella desperately wanted to see into his blue pools and kiss him until she lost all thought and feeling. She wanted to take the last hour back.

"Talk to me," she pleaded, reaching for his hand, but he pulled away.

"Why would you do that?" he demanded, crossing his arms, leaning back against his truck. "You heard the story-you know what she did!"

"Regardless of what she did, your sister wanted her there!" Gabriella cried, anger slowly bubbling. She didn't want to upset Troy, but why couldn't he get past his bias towards Sharpay to see that his sick sister needed support and help and Sharpay was the person she wanted to see? "Let the past go! If I were you, I'd do anything to help my _sick _and potentially _dying _sister get better and beat this!"

"That's the thing, Gabriella!" Troy pushed himself off of the truck, his arms held stiffly at his side. "You've known her for what, a few months? Not years-you don't know what Sharpay Evans put my family through."

"Your sister wanted to see her!" Gabriella shot back. "Don't you want to help her?"

"Do you think I enjoy this? Coming here, seeing my emaciated sister with tubes up her nose, destroying herself? The fighting in therapy, the heavy weight I feel on my shoulders, trying to convince myself it's not my fault? I don't want her dead and I'm pissed off you would think that!"

"I don't think that! I know you care! I know it kills you because _I'm the one being effected by you! _Every time I see you cry, it tears me apart. Seeing Julie cause you and your family pain in tearing me apart because I care, Troy! She's your sister and it feels like she's slowly becoming mine! Your pain is mine, okay? You fought for me when I wanted to give up and I'm here for you! I'm just trying to help!"

"Well stop, okay? Because she's not your responsibility. She's mine. Your not family. You're my girlfriend and your decisions on who would 'help' Julie shouldn't pull weight because you're not always going to be a part of her life! You could be gone tomorrow and that' shouldn't affect Julie!"

Troy's words were like a slap in the face to Gabriella as she sucked her breath.

"So your saying I shouldn't get close to her because, if you break up with me, you don't want that having an negative affect on Julie?" Gabriella summarized, her voice breaking. "It's good to know all I've done has made a mark on you. Clearly the past year has meant nothing, it seems, to you. And here I feel like we've grown closer. But you feel the way you feel, Troy."

Gabriella shook her head and walked around to the passenger side, opening the door and closing it behind her with a loud bang of force. Troy pulled himself into the driver's side, making no move to start the car.

"Gabriella-"

"Just take me back to my dorm, Troy. Now."

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**Review and hope you all like!!!!!**

**-youMEANeverything14**


	8. Chapter 8

le maniera l'amo

Chapter Eight

Disclaimer: All characters affiliated with the High School Musical franchise are not mine. Original character and plots are.I'm

Chapter Seven

**I was going to make this a mafo chapter, but I decided to break it down because next seek, from Thursday to Sunday, I won't be able to write/update, so I want to supply you guys with as many chapters as I can before I leave. This chapter came to me late Monday night and I am soo proud of the way it turned out. I suddenly had a major rush of ideas and needed to get this chapter out of me before I lost it.**

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Chapter Eight

Troy's truck stopped with a halt in front of Gabriella's dorm, an awkward silence filling the cabin. Gabriella, who had looked down at her folded hands, trying her hardest not to shed to tears for much of the ride, glanced at Troy from underneath her eyelashes, seeing his hard, icy blue gaze directed forward, out across the campus. Part of her-the irrational, romantic side-wanted to grab him, run her fingers through his hair and slam him up against the window with a fiery kiss, dragging him back upstairs with her and leaving the past few hours behind them. The rational side of Gabriella knew well that that was all they had been doing-going about their relationship as if everything was normal and well.

"Thanks," Gabriella breathed, pushing open the door and closing it behind her, running through the quad leading to her dorm. Troy watched her disappear through the doors, clenching his jaw as his pressure rose, anger and other buried emotions rising. He glanced up at the third story window that he knew rested above Clare's bed, shaking his head, slamming his hands down hard on the steering wheel in frustration, emitting a honk from the horn, causing a queue of girls to direct their path away from his truck warily.

He pushed the door open, slamming it behind him as he pulled his shirt over his head, throwing it into the bed of the truck as he took two starting steps and broke into a jog, pushing himself into a full out sprint as he ran, leaving his pent up feelings, anger and frustration as Stanford's campus flashed pasted him in a blur of yellows and greens, groups of students going about their lives as if nothing could bother them. Troy shook his head, beads of sweat dripping down his face and into his eyes as he yearningly thought back to a time when his life was less complicated than its present predicament.

He ran and ran, the light changing from a mid-afternoon yellow to the dimmer color of twilight, the air cooling around his bare shoulders. His steps carried him through winding pathways and later out onto the main road again, down the route he usually drove to Gabriella's dorm, one permadently ingrained in his memory as his subconcious mind took his feet down that path, his truck soon coming back into view.

The exhaustion of the physical exertion he had just put his body through hit him like a brick; he collapsed and fell back against the green grass, hiding his face with his hands as memories and feelings came crashing down again, nearly suffocating him, Tears leaked out of the corners of his eyes and soon dusk fell, Troy unaware as he sank into a troubled sleep, there outside Gabriella's dorm.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

After escaping from Troy's range of gaze, Gabriella dashed up the narrow stairway and broke into her room, throwing herself down on her bed, finally allowing the tears to come with gut-wrenching sobs as she cried for Julie, for Troy, and in humor. Who would have thought her life would be thrown into its current cofusion over a boy? Gabriella knew, though, Troy was so much more than a sterotyped teen romance, which made it hurt even more as the true depth of what he meant to her coupled with his words rang over and over again in her mind.

Sometime later, Gabriella felt a pair of arms wrap around her shoulders and sit her up, pressing a cool bottle into her hands.

"Drink," Clare commanded, guiding Gabriella's hand to her mouth and giving her shoulders a gentle squeeze as Gabriella drained the bottle. "Now explain to me why Troy's truck is outside and he's not here with you while you drain your body of tears."

As if one cue, tears pricked the corner of Gabriella's eyes and Clare reached over and plucked the tissue box from her nightstand, dropping it into Gabriella's lap.

"Blow and talk," she ordered. "It's a miracle cure if you don't like alcohol."

Gabriella managed a tender smile and haltingly told the events of the afternoon, wincing as she words pierced her raw as she repeated them, nearly word for word as Clare patiently listened, giving her a gentle hug when her roommate's voice broke.

"What are you going to do?" Clare asked simply when Gabriella finished her tale, a pile of tissues growing steadily beneath their feet. Gabriella shrugged, her elastic snapping lose from her ponytail, sending curls tumbling down her back.

"I don't know," Gabriella admitted truthfully. "Part of me just wants to put it behind me and move on, but I know that we can't. I can't."

"Do you want to call your mom? Or Taylor? They know Troy better than I do," Clare offered, but Gabriella shook her head.

"They warned me this would happen from the start of Julie's hospitilization," Gabriella said. "I don't want to be told, 'I told you so.' I don't need that."

"This has been a tough one for you both," Clare acknowledged. "Look how you have been affected and Julie's not even your sister."

"It's not so much Julie as seeing what it all has done to Troy," Gabriella amended. "That's truly what has hurt, seeing his pain."

"So this clearly isn't caused by lack of love," Clare observed. "His pain is your pain."

Gabriella nodded.

"It's killing me, seeing him hurting. In the beginning, he was coping better, taking medication to help with things. But I found the bottle in the trash and he's just grown more isolated and-"

"Maybe he just needed to vent and the feelings came out wrong," Clare offered. "Think about it: Troy knows his pain causes you hurt. He buries it to try to protect you and he snapped. Sharpay's appearence struck a chord and he didn't give time for you to explain your actions."

"I tried to, though," Gabriella reminded.

"In the heat of the moment, though, neither of you probably really managed to say what you had intended," Clare pointed out. "From what I gather, if you're hurting, Troy's hurting double."

Gabriella nodded and her gaze fell on the framed candid of Troy and she resting on her bedside table.

"Why can't we just go back to high school?" Gabriella mused in a near whisper. "Back to a time when the only worry was whether or not he was going to ask me out, whether or not we'd have time to make out before my mom came home, when college was a distant memory, when eating disorders were something that belonged to the CW."

"This is your life now," Clare said gently, rubbing her friend's back in comfort and support. "Take it and run. But you can't give up on Troy. I can see you don't. You don't want to lose him, do you?" It wasn't even so much a question as a statement, yet Gabriella nodded, tears pricking her eyes again as she blew her nose, letting the tissue fall.

"I don't want to lose him," she repeated, biting her lip. "I don't want this to end-us, my feelings for him, any of it." She closed her eyes for a moment and her shoulders shook in a small laugh.

"Okay, glad to see a smile, but why are you smiling?" Clare asked, raising an eyebrow.

Still with her eyes closed, Gabriella replied, "I'd never thought I'd be one to sit and sob over a boy like some teenage drama."

"You ain't 90210, sweetie, and never will be," Clare assured. "What you have is so much deeper than the bimbos running around in Beverly Hills, don't worry. Your boy's probably way hotter, anyway. And much more of a man. He cares, Gabriella. You both upset one another-just imagine what he must be dealing with right now."

"I hope he made the drive back to school safely," Gabriella murmured, her eyes drawing to the phone as she bit at her lip.

A knock came to the door and Clare unwound her legs from their crossed position, pointing a finger at Gabriella as she stood and went to the door, instructing, "Stop it with the lip. You'll draw blood."

A knock came again and Clare turned the nob, an annoyed mask gracing her face, falling as she stood face to face with Adrian.

"What?" she asked, coming out as a bit of a bark.

"Hello, PMS Queen," Adrian answered in a teasing but wary tone, holding up his hands in a sign of innocence. "Just wanted to let Gabriella know that Bolton's crashed outside. Hope the dude's not drunk or something. He's missing a shirt."

Clare looked confused and pushed Adrian in the chest, as if it was a practical joke, but Gabriella crawled onto Clare's bed and looked out the window to see Troy's truck and Troy, sprawled on the grass, his head falling to the side as his tan, bare chest was nearly illuminated by the fading sunlight. Gabriella took a deep breath and heard vaguly in the background the sound of Clare scolding her boyfriend, ushering him out of the room and down the hall, the door clicking shut behind him.

"You can leave him, Gab. I sent Adrian down to wake his ass up and send him home," Clare said, clearly sending the message that even know the wall between her roommate and her boyfriend had been built by both, Gabriella was still upset and Clare was going to be pissed at the boy who made her cry out of honor and respect for her girl pal.

"No, no," Gabriella said, her eyes still keeping watch out the window on the sleeping figure of her boyfriend. "I'll go get him."

She turned and stood, slipping her feet into her flipflops as Clare eyes her warily.

"Are you sure?" she asked. "You going to be okay with that?"

"I'll talk with him in the morning," Gabriella promised. "But we're both emotionally drained, he even more than I. He won't make the drive home tonight. I'll let him crash here." Her unspoken words hung in the air-she needed him tonight.

Clare picked up her pillow and comforter, saying, "Tony's out with one of his girls tonight-Adrian'll want the company."

Gabriella nodded gratefully and stepped into the quiet hall. Clare put a hand on her shoulder, turning Gabriella to face her as she said, "You just get me up if anything's wrong or you just need the support, okay?"

Gabriella nodded and the two parted ways, Gabriella making her way slowly down the stairs and outside, standing over Troy, watching his chest rise and fall, a painted look spread across his face even in slumber. She knelt down gently and shook his shoulder, watching his lashes open, blinking in the sunlight as he took in Gabriella kneeling above him.

"Gabriella..." he breathed. "I'm so stupid. Stupid and sorry. Sorry I'm stupid. I-"

Gabriella put a hand to his lips and eased him up to his feet, keeping their contact to only the grasp of hands, but even so, she laced her fingers through his.

"I know," she said simply. "I am, too. We need to talk, but you're exhausted, I'm drained, and Clare's bed's empty tonight."

Troy nodded, and followed her upstairs, their hands still clasped. They had things to work through, yes, but at least with the small gesture of hospitality and the warmth of her hand in his, he knew his was forgiven.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Troy awoke the next morning with sunlight streaming through his closed lids, causing him to silently curse the day Clare and Gabriella had decided to switch sides of the room, done late on night; in Clare's case, late one _drunken _night. If they hadn't, he'd still be sleeping in the comfortable dark at the moment.

He rolled over and found Gabriella, her head resting against the wall, her hands laying limply on the keyboard of her laptop as she slept, looking so innocent and peaceful. Troy just wanted to curl up next to her and resume his slumber, but he new that, in this situation, it would be taking two steps back from the step of progress they had made the day before.

Careful not to wake his sleeping girlfriend, Troy silently pulled his sneakers back one, lacing them quickly before scanning Clare's clutter of a desk at the foot of the bed for paper and a pen to leave a note explaining when he had gone.

"If you're looking for anything, it's a lost cause," a quiet voice told him. Troy turned and saw Gabriella groggily rubbing her eyes and yawning as she gestured toward the nightstand. "I went out for coffee already. Black, two sugars, if you'd like."

"How'd you get to the cafeteria?" Troy asked, taking the still warm cardboard cup in his hand. "Your bike?"

"The truck," Gabriella replied, setting her laptop aside and reaching over for her own cup, which Troy knew contained decaf, one cream, one sugar, stirred just so.

"God, I keep forgetting you can drive now," Troy said, shaking his head. "That'll take so getting used to."

"You want to be around to get used to it then?" Gabriella asked as Troy's brow creased, taking him a moment to understand the implied meaning of her statement.

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**So I guess I left you hanging at the end, but I want to hear your interpretation of things. I love getting your reviews but I have one request-let me honestly know what you think of the story line and character development as well as my writing and any remarks that you think would make this all the more better. I almost hit 30 reviews, which is more which is more than my entire story last time!!! Yay!!! Thank you so so much and keep reading!!!**

**xoxo-youMEANeverything14**


	9. Chapter 9

**la maniera l'amo**

**Chapter Nine**

**Disclaimer: Disney owns all characters associated with High School Musical franchise. All original characters are mine.**

**So hello again!!! I am SO MAD at myself for not posting sooner, you have no idea and I have no excuse other than to say my life got insane and I had graduation, a show, a trip, and major writer's block. But I am updating and making a vow to write everyday and post every week, if not on a regular basis. **

**I have this chatper done, as well as chapter 10 and chapter 11 is already started. I will not post a new chapter unless the one to come after it is complete and the one after THAT is in the works.**

**I was contemplating changing the rating of the story to M because of language, so it is your assignment as the amazing readers/reviewers you are to let me know if you think everything is appropriate. I have had sudden inspiration and definetly know the direction this story is heading the next few chapters. 'Thank the Star' was 18 chapters and this will definetly be longer, have no doubt of that.**

**I love all who are reading and reviewing right now and I would love to drum up even more of you because I really love good critiques about my writing and my stories, so if you have the time, long reviews are loved because i love when people are nitpicky, especially about the characters.**

**Okay, I'm done! Go read!**

**~0~**

"Congrats."

Julie turned her head, raising an eyebrow in question as Jimmie made is way into the room. Julie moved over a bit to make room for him from her perch on the windowsill,

"Um, thanks, even though I really don't know what you're congratulating me on," Julie said, reaching up to pull off his beanie. "And you know I hate it when you wear these things."

Jimmie ran a hand through his hair and shrugged. "Sorry. Kind of a habit at this point. But congrats on getting off your IV! That's huge, right?"

Julie shrugged and absentmindedly rubbed the crevice in her arm where the IV had pierced her skin.

"I guess," she agreed. "Now they can send me out on pass again. Which is stupid, because last time was a fail."

"Hey, practice makes perfect, right?" Jimmie tried to comfort, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Like, I shot foul shot after foul shot before I could sink it. Maybe this is the same thing."

Julie smirked and punched his shoulder playfully.

"You did NOT just compare anorexia to basketball," she teased. "I am not orange, thank you! Although I see your point."

Jimmie hopped off the ledge and held out his hand.

"Come on," he coaxed. "Let's get out this room! I'm starting to hate it."

Julie looked him with fear.

"Jimmie, you know they don't like me," Julie reminded, curling her legs into her chest, referring to the fellow patients.

"So let's go show them that you're not the bitch they make you out to be," Jimmie said, standing in front of her, pulling her hands off her legs. "It'll be fine."

"Once you lose your reputation, you can't gain it back," Julie quoted the old adage, resisting as he tried to pry her into a standing position.

"Jules, you didn't lose your reputation," Jimmie scoffed. "Come on. Do it for me. I can't stare at these dance posters much longer. You know they creep me out."

"What?"

"People should not be able to do those things with their bodies," he explained, indicating a poster in which a dancer and her partner were executing a particularly painful-looking movement.

"For someone who can probably do that, you're a bit hypocritical," Julie teased, slowly unwinding her legs to stand. "I've seen you in class."

"I _miss _seeing you in class," Jimmie told her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "You need to beat this and get out of here, Jules. I miss having you around."

"Why, because I was the only teacher who doesn't call you on your awful turnout in your plies?" Julie taunted, her hands finding their way around his neck. Jimmie rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry, my mom is aware of that problem," he assured her, but his tone turned serious with his next statement. "But honestly, I miss you. There's this...void, I guess, and I need you back. I know you can beat this."

Julie bit her lip and looked away, back out the window, for a moment before murmuring, "Sometimes I don't feel like I'm strong enough." She looked down and then at his face, locking onto his gaze as if in desperation. "I don't know if I can beat this. I don't know if I want to put myself through what I know is coming. You know what I mean?"

"Being scared is part of facing something you don't know anything about," Jimmie pointed out as Julie's mouth fell open. "What?"

"You're being deep and sentimental again," she stated flatly. "Reading Mommy's magazine's?"

"No," Jimmy defended, although his blushing face gave him away. Julie smirked and stood on tiptoe to kiss him on the cheek. He grabbed her around the waist and picked her up, walking her out of the door.

"Jimmie, come on, please-"

"Julie!"

Julie pushed herself out of Jimmie's embrace to smile awkwardly at the family playing a board game on the table across the hallway. The patient, a small blond girl, was scowling at her, causing the young girl's mother to see the distress on her daughter's face and scowl in Julie's direction as well.

"And you wonder why I don't venture out," Julie hissed at Jimmie. "And who yelled my name?"

"Julie!" She turned at the sound of her name and saw a beaming Jen throw her arms around her in a tight hug.

"Um, hey," Julie greeted as Jen pulled away with a squeal. "Someone's happy. Did you get a decrease?"

"Better," Jen said with a shake of her head, causing her red curls to bounce. "You know how my doctor was taking about possible discharge. and then he never did carry through on the promise last week?"

Julie nodded, remembering Jen's vial rant and the many tears and choice words said when her doctor failed to allow her discharge the previous week.

"Yeah?"

"Well, it's happening! I'm leaving! Out, goodbye, never to be here again! Soon-a few days!"

As Jen hugged her again, Julie felt her mind fog over and all sound disappear as her mind took in Jen's words. _I'm leaving. _Leaving.

Julie's one source of comfort was leaving.

It wasn't as if she was happy for Jen, because she was. Jen, after her third relapse, had been determined to come out of the hospital for the last time and Julie knew how hard she had been working, how much she had put herself through, and Julie was happy and proud of her.

At the same time, Julie felt abandoned. Next to Jimmie, Julie felt as if Jen were the only person who understood her; she certainly was the only patient in the unit who saw past her bitchy defense. And now she was leaving.

Julie had never felt so alone.

~0~

To an observer, Sharpay Evans had so fear. She was the labeled Ice Queen; she had no fear because she did not feel. She was indestructible. Invincible. Nothing stopped her, nothing stood in her way.

So it made no sense in her mind why she was sitting outside Troy Bolton's dorm room nearly crying from well, fear.

When Sharpay was three, she had been on her first audition, for the role of a Munchkin in _The Wizard of Oz. _She had marched onstage, dressed in full Dorothy regalia, and, instead of singing 'Happy Birthday' as the other little ones had, proceeded to do a rendition of 'Over the Rainbow.'

At fourteen, an eighth grader still in middle school, she had made her first appearance in an East High production, beating out high schoolers for the cameo role of 'Young Cosette' in _Les Miserables. _

In sophomore year, she had blackmailed the varsity football captain into taking her to prom after finding out that his well known relationship with the cheerleading captain was not his only extracurricular activity.

Sharpay was fearless. Invincible. And she was scared.

Sharpay Evans was scared. Seeing Troy's face as he saw her sitting with his sister had been one of the terrifying moments of her life, up there with her first leading role and the first day she had been in the hospital. The emotions that had played across Troy's face had been so familiar, had triggered such powerful feelings of deja vu.

Sharpay didn't know why she was there now, waiting for the boy who was sure to hate her. She shouldn't driven home and should have been back in Albuquerque at that very moment, sitting in her psych class, doodling in the margins of her book, for who cared if a bound-for-Broadway actress knew common therapeutic methods for _blah blah blah?_

But now, she would have given anything to be safely in that dreary room, half asleep. The dorm room at UC Berkley suddenly seemed, to Sharpay, dark and brooding, as if it were expecting the tears that were sure to be shed when Sharpay worked up the courage to leave the haven of her car and confront Troy.

"Alright, calm down Evans," Sharpay scolded herself, her eyes glancing up at the windows as if Troy's face was going to appear any moment and kill her with his gaze. "It's _Bolton. _Basketball boy. You shouldn't be scared."

Rationally, she shouldn't be. Emotionally, she was scared and on edge, which is why the knock on her window caused Sharpay to jump and scream dramatically, pulling her purse to her chest and Gabriella, on the other side of the door, covered her ears.

"Sharpay! Calm down, it's me!" Gabriella shouted, watching the blond settle slightly, open the door, and step out shakily, tottering on her heels. Gabriella gripped her arm to steady her.

"God, Ella, you scared me!" Sharpay cried dramatically, putting a hand to her chest, stating the blatant obvious.

"And you probably caused me to go temporarily deaf," Gabriella retorted wryly. Sharpay looked down at her-for she was in four inch heels-a bit taken back by how brash Gabriella had become since graduation.

"When did you become so sarcastic?" Sharpay asked, voicing her thoughts as Gabriella released her arm and crossed her tan arms over her sundress.

"When my boyfriend became depressed," Gabriella stated flatly and Sharpay immediately shut her mouth, almost seeing the tension and anger emitting off of her friend.

"Speaking of Troy," Sharpay began. "where is the boy toy? I, um, need to talk to him."

"Something to do with Julie, I presume?" Gabriella asked, her voice quiet, as she reached up rub at her eye, further smearing her mascara.

"Yes, it is," Sharpay confirmed, grabbing Gabriella's thin wrist and pulling her hand away. "No offense, love, but you look like a wreck. Did you come from the hospital?"

"Haven't been there since you last were," Gabriella said. "Why? Do I look that awful?" She bit her lip and looked down, embarrassed.

Sharpay rolled her eyes.

"Even at your worst you look better than most of us," Sharpay stated. "Even me, which I can't believe I'm saying." This caused Gabriella to crack a small smile. "Now what's wrong? You look like someone told you Troy was gay or something."

Gabriella laughed harshly before wiping at her eye again, determined not the let the tears spill over.

"I wish. It might've hurt less."

By her comment, Sharpay knew instantly that something had gone down between Gabriella and Troy. Taking the brunette by the wrist, Sharpay led her over to the green metal bench that was stationed a few feet away from the entrance to the dorm. From the view point, Sharpay saw Troy's truck parked across the road, Troy not in sight.

"Okay," Sharpay said, sitting Gabriella down across from her. "What's going on in paradise?"

With many tears, sniffles, and pink tissues, Gabriella told Sharpay of what had happened in the twenty four hours since they had last seen her. To Gabriella, it seemed like so much longer.

Midway through a sentence, Sharpay held up her hand. Gabriella stopped her phrase and looked at her expectantly.

"What?"

"Go fuck him."

"_What?!"_

"You heard me. Go fuck him."

Gabriella's mouth fell open as she stared at the blond in disbelief.

"Sharpay, did you not just hear what I told you-"

"I know what you told me. I heard. I heard that in the heat of the moment, emotional, confused, and pissed off because he saw me, Troy voiced some of his thoughts that were irrational and he, when calm, collected, and his normal overly attentive boyfriend self, wouldn't have said. That's a human reaction to anything-not a cause for a reexamination of your relationship."

"But-"

Sharpay put a manicured finger over Gabriella's lips.

"He said you 'could be gone' or whatever. Gabriella, be realistic."

Hearing this from Sharpay, the girl who had been practicing her Oscar acceptance speech from when she was four, made thinking realistically a bit difficult for Gabriella.

"Sharpay, I don't get where you're going with this," she said honestly. "He-"

"Loves you. Chose a college _for you. _He does see a future-don't worry about that, Gabriella. When you were up here last year, he was a wreck during rehearsals, trust me. I had to dance with him."

Gabriella's face remained passive, allowing Sharpay to continue.

"I also, at rehearsals, overhead that there was a certain phone conversation that occurred in which you informed Troy you couldn't come home because you couldn't keep saying goodbye? Is that correct?"

Gabriella nodded, still unsure of where Sharpay was taking this.

"You didn't want to return and face the pain again, so what did you do? You made a reason to escape from it. In your case, you run. In Troy's case, it becomes verbal. Think back to junior year, to what Chad and Taylor did. You know when Troy's temper gets the best of him he says things he doesn't mean."

Gabriella nodded slowly, understanding.

"Your saying that these fights will occur," she said, "that when emotions take get the best of us, everyone reacts differently and Troy acts out verbally. And I shouldn't take it personally!"

"'Exactly!" Sharpay cried in triumph. "You panicked not because of his reaction, but because he said may not be with you, which is a load of bullshit. But anyway, you just need to say, 'Troy, I know you were upset and the words hurt, but it's okay. Now let's have hot sex.'"

Gabriella bit her lip, the blond amusing her now.

"Okay, Sharpay," Gabriella agreed. "And thank you. I think that was the deepest conversation we've ever had."

Sharpay sniffed.

"Yes, I have my moments," she boasted, fluffing her hair with a smirk. Gabriella stood and looked up at the windows.

"Do you still need to talk to Troy?" Gabriella asked. Sharpay shook her blonde mane and stood up as well.

"You go have a fun night," she said, patting Gabriella's shoulder. "Have some good sex for the both of us since I"m not getting any at the moment."

Gabriella's face finally lit up in a full smile and she threw her arms around the blond, taking Sharpay by surprise by the performer returned it.

"Thank you," Gabriella said again. "I owe you one."

Sharpay rolled her eyes.

"I'll be back," she assured Gabriella before kicking her butt playfully with a pink spiked shoe. "Now go."

Sharpay watched as Gabriella ran up into the building and turned back to her car with a smirk. No, she didn't fully accomplish what she had come to do, but another idea had formed in her head, one she was intent on completing as soon as possible.

Like now.

Setting her hobo bag in the passenger seat, Sharpay fished out her phone and scrolled through the address book to a number she had never believed she called. Starting the car, but keeping it in park as it was illegal to talk and drive as Sharpay had found out the hard way, Sharpay hit send and put the phone to her ear, drumming her long nails on the steering wheel as she waited.

~0~

In the U of A locker room, Chad Danforth nearly dropped his towel as he pulled his phone from his bag one handed and gawped at the number on the screen.

"Dude, your girlfriend just text you she was pregnant or something?" a teammate joked, Chad sitting down and using his hand no longer holding up his towel to give the boy the finger.

"Worry about your own shit," Chad growled before putting the phone to his ear, saying tentitively, "Hello?"

"Chad. I didn't know if you had my number, but it's Sharpay."

"No, I have it," Chad replied. "I got it from Hoops junior year so I knew if you called never to pick up."

"Haha your hilarious," Sharpay deadpanned on the other end. "Did I catch you at a bad time?"

Chad rolled his eyes. "Would you even care if you did?"

There was a pause and then, "Probably not."

"So you won't care I'm sitting in the locker room wearing a towel than," Chad said with a smirk as Sharpay squawked, "Okay, ew! You didn't need to tell me that!"

"Hey, you asked, Barbie," he retorted, leaning his elbows on his knees. "Now what's up. Why did you call?"

"I'm out in California," Sharpay said.

"So."

"Visiting Julie."

"Damn Sharpay, are you fucking insane?" Chad asked loudly, causing many of his teammates to look in his direction curiously. Chad knew of Julie Bolton's hospitalization and the history between Sharpay Evans and the Bolton family, having been raised partially in the household. "Sharpay, that was so stupid!"

"She's struggling, Chad," Sharpay said quietly, her tone turning serious. "Jimmie Zara said she was asking for me."

It was Chad's turn to sit quietly for a moment in thought before saying, "I'm guessing Hoops didn't react well."

"Nope!" Sharpay said, her tone too bright. "He pissed Gab off, but I fixed that-they're off having make up sex now."

"You sound very proud of yourself," Chad noted.

"Oh I am. For not paying attention in psych class, I gave some pretty sound advice."

"Congrats. Now Hoops. What the hell went down."

"He's really having a hard time," Sharpay said. "Really hard. Gab doesn't know what to do."

"So why isn't Gab calling me?" Chad asked.

"Because Gab wouldn't ask you to come out here, possibly with Jase and Zeke, and cheer him up," Sharpay explained. "Getting Tay out here for Gab would be amazing, but I can only do so much. I'm not a fairy godmother."

"That'd be all we'd need," Chat muttered before saying clearly, "You're asking me if I want to go on a road trip?"

"Yes."

"You're _asking _me if I want to cut class, grab a few friends, and go to California to get wasted."

"Damn it, Chad, yes!"

"You're asking me. To get wasted."

_"YES!"_

Chad looked at the phone for a moment as if heaven's gates had just opened and a choir of Playmate bunnies had suddenly descended upon him.

"Sharpay," he proclaimed loudly, "you are my savior."

**~0~**

**I'm nervous. Let me know what you think!**


	10. Chapter 10

**la maniera l'amo**

**Chapter Ten**

**Disclaimer: Disney owns all characters associated with High School Musical franchise. All original characters are mine.**

**I have to send an icrediable amount of love out to all of you, especially **Kro22, girlpower8900, Persephone Lemonade, Laugh-Dance-Love, zacvanesssaxxx,and geekspen **for their amazing reviews.**

**I'm posting this a bit sooner than planned, which I means I plan to post again Friday or Saturday, because I found out I have an insane work schedule this week. :-(. I hope that is okay with all of you and I can't thank you enough for bearing with me.**

**Just a note on the time frame of this story: As of chapter 10, it is late October and Julie has been in the hospital for about nine weeks now, since the end of August. Just wanted to clear that up.**

**I was a bit nervous about the coming chapter, so please let me know what you think! Your reviews make my day, no lie. I guarantee I will wake up tomorrow and sign into my email as quickly as possible just to check.**

**Thank you sooooo much! Enjoy!**

**~0~**

There is some thrill to the first day of school. Any student publicly will whine, moan, and complain about having to set foot back in "the hell hole" or "prison" or any other cleverly conceived nickname for the school building. Privately, though, summer can get tediously boring and one begins to miss friends, therefore allowing the first day of school to be somewhat enjoyable, that same joy extending into the later weeks of September.

Now, though, school was back to being annoying and time-consuming and, as she sat drumming her names on her desk in attempts to stay awake during a boring theology lecture, Tiara Gold thought of the golden sand and shirtless surfers, she began to wish desperately for summer to come again.

Looking subtly about her to engage in her favorite pastime of people watching, Tiara's eyes skipped over Any Henderson and her particularly vile pink sweater to land on the sleeping figure of Jimmie Zara, causing a slow smirk to spread across her face as she began to think of the plethora of ways she could alert the teacher of his present state and have him sent to detention. To Tiara, there was no greater thrill than bantering with Jimmie Zara. Something about the brash, outgoing basketball player sent her heart aflutter.

Tiara knew very well though of why Jimmie Zara had quit the school garage band, of which he was guitar player, and why he was receiving so many excused absences from basketball games and now school days alike. She knew very well why he was slumped over his desk right now, possibly drooling as his beanie slid off his head.

With the teacher's back turned to the board, Tiara reached over from her seat across the isle to pull the cap off of the skater's head, promptly waking him from his slumber as he shot up, looking around, dazed.

"What the-" he began but Tiara cut him off with a sight kick of her ballet flat. His head snapped around to look at her and their eyes met, Tiara raising an eyebrow as if to question why he had been sleeping. Jimmie shrugged and twitched his head in the direction of their still droning teacher, reminding her they couldn't exactly talk. Tiara rolled her eyes and turned to her notebook, flipping to a clean page.

_How is darling Juliet then?_

Ripping the page quietly from its seams, Julie folded it neatly, placed it inside Jimmie's hat, and handed the bundle back to him. She kept her eyes forward, the innocent picture of the attentive student, and waited until she felt a soft tap on her foot to stick and hand out and feel a piece of paper placed in it.

**It's Julie. She's, um, okay. Why do you care?**

Just as Tiara was about to put pen to paper again, the bell ran, instigating the rush of students as the ran to break free of the classroom. Tiara took her time, smoothing her skirt as she stood before collecting her books and walking towards the door, where Jimmie was waiting for her.

"Ah, always the gentleman," she teased, nudging him playfully with her hip, causing a slight grimace to cross Jimmie's face. Tiara pretended not to notice and hid her scowl.

"I just want to finish this conversation," Jimmie explained as they stepped into the hallway, where juniors and seniors split, some going to lunch, others heading off to class or a free period. "It can't be good if you actually give a shit about how my girlfriend is doing."

Tiara looked up at him in surprise.

"Oh, so she's your girlfriend now?" she asked, sidestepping a group of rowdy freshman, subconsciously wondering why the pair was even in the junior hallway. "It's official?"

"Yeah, she is," Jimmie defended, his voice coming on harder than he meant it. "Why?"

Tiara shrugged her shoulders and flipped her glossy braid behind her shoulder.

"Must be fun going out," she mused, putting a finger to her chin in thought. "What's your favorite date spot: the therapist's room or the clinic?"

Jimmie stopped, causing the students behind him to yell loudly as they made their way around him. Tiara turned on her heel and stood in front of him, hip cocked out, knowing she struck a chord.

"You're a bitch," Jimmy said through gritted teeth. "You know that?"

"How am I a bitch if I just state the frank truth?" Tiara asked, tilting her head in a questioning manner. "Really Jimmie, it's not as you have a real relationship. I think it's adorably sweet all you're doing for her-you've given up a lot. But really, don't you want someone who's a little less-oh, how do I put this- mentally unstable?"

"I guess that takes you off of that list than," Jimmie shot back, "considering your bipolar disorder hasn't been treated yet."

Tiara smirked and nodded.

"Someone's brushed up on their comebacks," she observed. "But really, isn't it becoming quite annoying, giving up all you do?"

"I"m not giving anything up," Jimmie begged to differ. "It's my choice. You need to deal with that or fuck off." He turned to walk away and made it a few feet before Tiara called out, "Bring her to Harvest Moon."

Jimmie spun around again and walked closer, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"And why in hell would I do that?" he asked. "She's in the _hospital. _It's not camp, I can't just take her home for a day."

"Oh, but I thought you could," Tiara said. "Doesn't she have to go on mandatory pass or something of that nature?"  
Jimmie nodded his head and looked at her questioningly. "Why do you know all this?"

"I took the liberty of doing a little research," Tiara said. "Since I've been sworn to secrecy, I can't talk to anyone and I had some questions."

"Yeah, she does have to go out on pass," Jimmie said. "But that does not mean I'm taking her to Harvest Moon. Passes are stressful enough for her."

Tiara shrugged and looked down at her nails, painted red as if to go with her personality.-loud, obnoxious, and biting.

"It was only a thought," Tiara said, examining her nails. She looked up with a small smile, almost devious and malicious, and said, "I'd just so love to meet her."

Jimmie took that as a large enough sign _not _to allow Julie anywhere East High quite yet.

~0~

Gabriella rolled over with a moan, smiling as she took in Troy's sleeping form, bangs falling lazily falling over his closed baby blues as he quietly snored. Gabriella giggled and brushed his bangs away before pressing a kiss to his bare chest, right above his heart.

Trying to be as quiet and move as little as she could as so not to disturb her sleeping beau, Gabriella sat up and stretched her arms, slightly sore and cramped not only from sleeping curled in a ball, but from the three different times Troy had made her orgasm the previous night.

She was about to put a foot on the ground, as Troy had slept by the window and she closer to the door, when she felt a muscular arm snake around her waist and pull her back onto the bed with a moan.

"Troy!" she whined. "You need to sleep!" She giggled as he rolled overtop of her, his arms on either side of her head to support his weight.

"I slept on your lawn yesterday, remember?" he reminded before leaning down to kiss her, but Gabriella turned away.

"I have morning breath," she tried to explain as Troy kissed her check, jawline, and started down her next. "Troy...come on...we need to put clothes on...."

"Why?" he breathed against her skin. "I like you better without."

Mustering all possible self control, Gabriella pushed Troy away and sat up, almost giving in again when she noticed just how sexy her boyfriend looked with bed-head.

"We need to- _I _need to clear some things up," she said. "Considering how little talking we did last night."

Troy smirked and stood up, letting the sheets fall aside as Gabriella's heart thumped twice before he pulled his boxers on, laughing and asking cockily, "You enjoy the view?"

Gabriella, out of character, nodded and crawled on her knees across the bed, snaking her hands up his stomach and around his neck. Troy swallowed at the touch of their bare skin.

"Come back here, you. I want to say something."

She pulled him back down, he pulling her into his lap so that she was resting back against his chest.

"So what's up?" he asked, kissing the crown of her head lightly. She turned as far as she could without breaking their embrace.

"I," she began, looking right into his eyes, "am sorry for possibly overreacting about yesterday and I forgive you and don't want to make a big thing out of it. That's not what I"m trying to do by talking about it."

"No, no, I get it," Troy assured her, lacing their hands and looking down as he added, "I was an ass and I'm sorry. I have a tendency to say shit I don't mean to when I'm mad."

"It's okay," she said. "Believe it or not, Sharpay said the same thing."

Troy's brow creased. "You talked to her?"

Gabriella put a hand on his chest.

"I know that there is a rift between you two," she said. "I understand. But you also need to remember that your sister asked for her. You want what's best for Julie, right? What's going to help her?"

Troy nodded, his eyes still steel blue with slight anger.

"Just tolerate her for Julie's sake, okay? You don't have to be with her, talk to her, see her. I'll deal with that. But she's there to help Julie, okay, and she helped me yesterday. She's not all evil, Troy."

Troy closed his eyes for a moment, running the hand that wasn't holding his girlfriend's through his hair.

"It's just hard to get past that old bias," he said ruthfully. "When Sharpay was going through everything, she was pulling Julie right down with her, Gab. I guarantee you if Sharpay hadn't gone through this, Julie probably wouldn't have."

"She could've though," Gabriella pointed out. "Why didn't you want Sharpay there yesterday?"

It was quiet for a moment before Troy finally said, "It's not that I didn't want her there, because I did, I guess. It's just-we used to be close, Gab, and then she got sick and I remember getting so _mad _at her when she wouldn't fight, wouldn't try. I got mad because I was losing a friend and she was pulling my sister down with her."

Gabriella didn't respond when he stopped, knowing he hand more to say. She merely wrapped her arms around his neck and let him continue

"I just remember the tears and the silence, everything that's going on now. And I hated it. For me, though, if something happens I hate that I can try not let happen again, I don't. Like with us. After Lava Springs, after you taking off...you learn from your mistakes, you know?"

"So you were mad at Sharpay because you blame her for Julie," Gabriella guessed.

Troy nodded, running a hand through his hair, a clear sign of his frustration.

"Mad at her because she was such a role model for Julie and she was stupid and didn't see it! Maybe Julie would be sick, who knows, but I'm sure being around Sharpay doing her time didn't do anything to help, you know?"

Gabriella nodded slowly.

"Julie wants her there, though," she reminded gently. "And I'm sorry. I should've talked to you first."

Troy leaned back again the wall, looking out across the view that expanded from his window.

"You did the right thing," he murmured quietly. Gabriella crawled off his lap and sat angled to him as to see his face better.

"Are you sure?" she asked. "Troy, really. I learned my lesson. I can't overstep. I understand."

Troy shook his head and took her hand, looking down and then up into her chocolate gaze.

"You sometimes know me better than I know myself," he said quietly. "You read other people better and know what they need. Julie was the happiest I've seen her yesterday. No matter what my bias is towards Sharpay, she made my sister happy. I can't hold bringing my sister some comfort when she's in hell against you."

Gabriella gave a small smile and moved closer to Troy to kiss his forehead, standing up on her knees to do so because of the height difference.

"You are holding up so well," Gabriella said softly, sitting back on her heels to become eye level with her boyfriend. "Really."

"I don't feel like I am," Troy admitted. "Not at all."

~0~

"Jase, Zeke, c'mon!" Chad called, cupping his hands around his mouth for added theatrical effect. "Hurry up!"

"Man, okay, we're coming!" Zeke appeared at the base of the stairs, a gym back over one shoulder and a stack of tupperware containers in the other hand.

"Man, what the hell?" Chad asked, gesturing to the baked goods. "You bringing your Home Ec class with you or something?"

"Comfort food," Zeke snapped.

"Dude, we're not chicks," Jason added, coming to a stop behind Zeke with his own bag slung over his shoulder.

"I'm aware of that, thanks," Zeke said, looking back at his friend, confused. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Chicks are the only ones that like, eat a lot of junk when they're all depressed, right?" Jason said. "And we're not chicks."

Zeke opened his mouth to retaliate, but Chad just shook his head.

"Good point, Jase," he said, going along with his lovable but sometimes slow best friend. "Zeke hasn't gotten any action for a while. That's why he's acting like a chick."

"Dude!" Zeke kicked Chad in the shin as his hands were unavailable to hit him across the back of the head. "At least I'm not having sex with my cell phone."

Chad's dark skin flushed red at the mention of what he spent his nights doing with Taylor.

"It's not my fucking fault she had to go to school across the damn country," he mumbled, pushing opening the door and holding it open as Zeke and Jason made their way across the quad to Chad's red truck, bought with the graduation money his parents had given from from Riley's.

"It sucks that all the girls left," Jason agreed, dumping his bag and basketball in the bed, Zeke doing the same.

"Except they didn't," Zeke said, pulling opening the passenger door. "Sharpay's here. And a few of the cheerleaders from our class."

"But none of _our _girls," Jason elaborated. "Like, the ones we were cool with. Gan, Tay, Kels, Martha and them all."

"Stupid performing arts schools," Chad agreed, sliding into the driver's seat. "What's out East anyway? Snow? Visit Utah for break. They didn't have to move there."

Chad started the engine and looked over his shoulder to safely back out of the lot as Zeke said, "Hoops would luck out and get to go to school with his chick."

"Don't even get me started with him and Gabster," Chad said as he pulled onto the main road. "It's like a freaking fairy tale or something, those two."

"Not so much anymore,"Jason put in. "Now it's like, a horror movie or something with his sister."

Zeke shook his head.

"Feel bad for the family," he said. "Just hope Troy's okay. We all know how upset he can get."

"Dude, he was like, depressed after him and Gab had that fallout last summer," Chad said. "I don't want to see him now."

"Well, we're going up to like, make him happy again, right?" Jason asked. "Because I wasn't totally clear on why we were doing this."

"Yeah, and it's an excuse to cut," Chad reminded. "I so wasn't arguing with that. But we need just need to get Troy's ass on the court, away from hospitals, and drunk."

"That," Zeke said with a clap to Chad's back, "sounds like a foolproof plan."

**~0~**

**Reviews?**

**xoxo**


	11. Chapter 11

**la maniera l'amo**

**Chapter Eleven**

**Disclaimer: Disney owns all characters associated with High School Musical franchise. All original characters are mine.**

**I don't know how I can thank you all enough, other than to keep posting more for you to respond so amazingly to!! Your reviews were the highlight of my day and they are so full of personality that I know my readers feel strongly about what I am writing and that in turn makes me more motavated to bang out these chapters, which I seem to be doing.**

**As I said, I am posting weekly, or more if I can, so expect the next chapter to be up on Wednesday or Thursday. My life is getting crazy busy again, as I was just cast as a lead in a musical and my bosses seem to think my life revolves around work, but I am making this story a top priority and my life and I love you all insanely for putting up with my schedule. **

**There were some interesting theories that were formed in many of your minds and they made me smile, as some of you were thinking as I was...but read, review, and wait and see!!!**

**~0~**

"I cannot believe I am doing this," Taylor McKessie grumbled to herself as her patent heels clacked across JFK Airport's floor. "I must love her. A lot."

"We all must," Kelsi agreed from Taylor's left side.

"We all _do,_" Ryan reminded. "Which is why we're doing this, cutting class until deemed necessary. Because they need us."

"I guess it will nice to have a break," Taylor agreed. "I talked to my professors and made up all my work in advance anyway, so I shouldn't be to behind once I get back."

"Of course you did, Taylor," Kelsi teased, bumping the taller girl's hip. "You're you."

"I'm glad you thought of the idea of all of us meeting up to fly out together though," Taylor said in reply. "I would've been so lonely on a single flight out."

"It made sense," Kelsi said with a shrug. "We're all within a few hours of each other anyway."

The trio had met up in Union Station the previous day, Kelsi and Ryan picking up Taylor, who had taken the train from New Haven. After being showed around New York and eating in a quaint little deli that Kelsi had discovered, the friends had risen early that morning to catch a 7:25 flight from JFK to LAX with a layover stop in Phoenix. Chad, driving up with Zeke and Jason, had volunteered to go out of his way to pick the three up, allowing Kelsi and Ryan to tease Taylor endlessly with the joke that she had Chad 'whipped.'

Gabriella knew little of the plans; Sharpay had told only Chad would be coming up to visit Troy and behind the brunette's back had organized a full-fledge Wildcat reunion. Taylor, although a bit wary to be leaving school at first, had chosen to shut the rational side of her brain off and 'follow her heart' for once. She missed her best friend horribly and knew that Gabriella probably needed support right now.

"It's going to be quite the emotional trip, I'm thinking," Ryan predicated as they made their way towards their gate, the airport surprising busy for the early 6 o'clock hour. "Sharpay never takes it upon herself to plan something like this."

"I think it's sweet," Kelsi said. "She cares about something and is choosing to take action. That's a big step for her in my book."

"Mine as well," Taylor agreed. "This is our gate."

The trio settled themselves in, placing their carry-on suitcases in a pile and resumed conversation, breaking only to use the restrooms and go for an early breakfast run at a small cafe in the airport. As Kelsi was paying for her bagel and tea, Ryan took a look at his watch and said to the girls, "Why don't we sit for a bit? I can see our luggage from here, so no worries about it getting snatched. We have an hour anyway."

Kelsi looked at Taylor and the two exchanged a look of contemplation before agreeing.

They settled into a corner table, away from the two other patrons in the small shop, and immediately Taylor turned her attention to grilling the two.

"Okay," she began, taking a sip of her coffee. "How is life in New York? New Haven, while scenic, is honestly boring as hell."

"Aw, no wild keg parties, Tay?" Kelsi teased, stirring a sugar into her tea. "We know how you loved those."

"None that I'm invited to, anyway," Taylor replied smoothly, not letting the jab affect her. "What about you two? Are piano players known for their wild nights?"

Kelsi shrugged.

"I mean, it's different, living here," she said. "Even in the dorm, there's so much independence. I'm still really transitioning."

"She's right," Ryan agreed. "I love this city; I've been here so often. But it's so different coming with my parents and staying in a hotel from living in a dorm and really being responsible for everything, you know? Everybody always wants to order out, and you have to know when to say no and hold back until the next care package from the folks comes in."

"Except ear plugs," Kelsi put in. "They're worth the investment. Or a really nice pair of headphones. I can't fall asleep without music playing in the background now."

The casual banter about dorm life continued until Taylor caught Ryan slip Kelsi a small, knowing smile when they began talking about a particular party and Taylor pounced.

"Okay, you two. What is up with this?" she asked, motioning to the air between the two of them. "What's going on."

The dancer and composer looked at each other shyly before Ryan cleared his throat, took Kelsi's hand, and said in a casual but affirming manner, "Yes, we're dating. Yes, we're a couple. No, we haven't really told any of the old gang."

Taylor's face lit up into a bright smile as she leaned across the small table and gave Kelsi a hug, quite happy for her friend since she had been able to pick up on the almost tangible chemistry between the pair from before graduation.

"Oh, guys, that is fantastic. I'm so glad it worked out for you two," Taylor told them earnestly. Kelsi smiled and pushed her glasses further up her nose.

"Well, what about you?" she prodded. "Find any romance up there with all those smarties?" From her written communication with Jason, Kelsi knew that since Taylor and Chad had called it off right after graduation, Chad had been relatively quiet when it came to the dating scene, almost straying away from girls, Jason had reported. Kelsi took that as a sign he was still head over heels for Taylor. She wasn't sure how Taylor had moved on, though, and she was curious.

"Oh, you know..." Taylor answered in a vague tone, letting her voice trail off as she lifted her cup to her lips, frowning when she realized it was empty.

"Excuse me while I get a refill," she said to the pair, standing to return to the barista. Kelsi turned to Ryan.

"Well, that wasn't a yes or a no," Kelsi evaluated. "And knowing Taylor, she's determined to keep it that way."

Ryan shrugged, not really invested in the conversation as he, being a boy, didn't really have an interest on the matter.

"She's doing her own thing," Ryan said with a shrug. "She's Taylor, she's always been private."

"I guess you're right," Kelsi agreed. But the gossiper inside of her was still dying to know.

Just as Kelsi began for formulate another question in attempt to lure an answer out of Taylor, Taylor's phone, left in the handbag she had carried with her to the table, began to buzz. Kelsi, being the good friend, followed what was the girls' custom in high school and pulled it out to answer.

_'One New Text,' _the screen read and, almost without thinking, Kelsi hit 'open,' her eyes widening as she took in the message.

_Damn, did you have to stay over with them last night?? It's 3 here and I can't sleep-horny as hell!! Help me cum?_

"Taylor!" Kelsi squealed, jumping up from the table and meeting her friend halfway between the bar and their table. Taylor saw she had her phone in her hand.

"Oh, did I get a text or something?" she guessed, reaching out her free hand.

"Oh, ye-es you did!" Kelsi nearly sang, stepping up to her friend's side. "Someone want to tell me something?"

Taylor's eyes widened as she read the text, grabbing the phone and snapping it shut as she power walked back to the table, Kelsi nearly running to keep on her heels.

"Taylor, why didn't you tell me?" Kelsi exclaimed as she and Taylor resumed their seats, Kelsi leaning across the table on her elbows as she stared wide-eyed and expectantly at her friend.

"It's...complicated," she said slowly, fiddling with a loose thread on her shirt, avoiding meeting Kelsi's gaze.

"How is it complicated?" Kelsi asked, her voice rising with volume as her excitement increased. "You're having phone sex with Chad!"

Taylor looked up sharply as Kelsi nearly shouted her last statement and Ryan looked up in collective surprise and mild discomfort.

"Okay, what? Did I hear her correctly?" he asked, pointing a finger at his girlfriend. "You and...Chad? The phone? Really? Didn't know you were into all that."

"I'm not," Taylor tried to defend as Kelsi smiled in amusement. "It's not what you think."

"How long," Kelsi deadpanned. Taylor sighed and, without looking at her friend, replied, "Little over a month and a half now."

"Jesus, Tay, and you didn't tell me!" Kelsi cried. "So you must be _really _excited for this trip than."

"It's, um, one of the many reasons, yes," Taylor admitted as Kelsi squeeled.

"Oh, yay, this is going to be so much fun."

~0~

"Chad, dude, stay awake. C'mon, man."

Chad felt a hard nudge in his ribs and his eyes sprung open again, having momentarily closed whilst his hands were on the wheel, guiding the truck-full of boys down a quiet, dark road about 100 miles outside of the Berkley campus It was around five in the morning-the boys had decided to drive straight through the night and not waste money on a motel. It was great that his wallet was fuller, but Chad was tired, horny, and just wanted to get up to UC Berkley and crash on Troy's bed. He and Gabby could be fucking for all he cared-he just needed sleep.

"I am crashing the minute we get there," Jason yawned loudly, stretching out his arms and hitting Zeke, who was sitting in the middle between the driver's and passenger's seat, in the face.

"_You're _tired?" Chad gaped, his mouth falling open. "Jason, just shut up, man, okay?"  
Jason looked to Zeke, confused as to why he was getting yelled out.

"What did I do?" he asked his friend, who merely patted him on the shoulder and replied good-naturedly, "It's all good. Chad's just pissed because he couldn't have sext last night."

Jason's brow furrowed further in confusion.

"Have what?" he asked.

"Sext," Zeke explained. "Sex text."

Chad nearly hit the breaks upon hearing this.

"I am _not," _he defended, taking his eyes off the empty road to glare at Zeke. "Where did you get that idea?"

"When you received an well, um explicit text from some girl named 'Kayla' and I know we don't know anybody named Kayla, so I knew it was a cover name or you were screwing a random chick," Zeke explained and Chad look at him as if he had just compared Sharpay to Mother Teresa.

"Man, you've been inhaling to much flour or something," he replied. "You realize how that sounds?"

"You can't get high from flour, dude."

As the exchange continued, Jason leaned over and looked between the two, now more confused than ever.

"Wait," he finally broke in, "you're_ sleeping_ with someone? Which means your_ seeing_ someone?"

Both Chad and Zeke stopped talking mid-sentence and Zeke looked expectantly towards Chad.

"I'm with Jase," he seconded. "Are you?"

Chad gripped the steering wheel lightly and, without taking his eyes off of the illuminated road in front of him, replied, "Yeah. Taylor."

The boys' reaction look a moment as the words sunk in, until Zeke let out a raucous laugh and clamped Chad on the shoulder.

"Man, good one!" he exclaimed, still laughing loudly as Jason seemed almost unable to control himself. "You and Taylor? The one who dumped your ass and left you depressed when she went off for Yale?"

Chad nodded, his jaw tense, resisting the urge to stop the car and punch Zeke, leaving him roadside. Zeke didn't pick up on his friend's tension as he was still to busy laughing, but Jason did.

"Wait," he said slowly, the grin falling off of his face. "You're serious. Man, Zeke" -he began poking Zeke hard on the shoulder-"he's serious!"

Zeke silenced and his mouth fell open as he took in Chad's discomfort.

"Holy shit you are serious," he said in disbelief. "You and Taylor? Again? Man, when?"

"Why the fuck should I tell you?" Chad said coldly. "You're not going to leave it alone."

"No, no, we will!" Jason assured him. "Seriously, tell us. I thought you two were like, done a while ago."

"We were," Chad finally said after moments of stony silence. "But after Hoops' sis went in, she called just to talk and then...yeah. You get the general idea."

"So it's been almost three months?" Zeke asked. "And you didn't tell us?"

"Man, I surprised you didn't _notice,_" Jason pointed out, as Chad and Zeke were roommates. "Taylor's cross country-wouldn't her late night be our really early morning or something?"

Zeke's jaw nearly fell open as he buddy said this last statement.

"Jason, man," he began, "you are _on _tonight!" He then turned to Chad and questioned, "Yeah, I would've noticed you jacking off at three in the morning and I didn't. What gives?"

Chad rolled his eyes as he turned a bend in the road and was relieved to see the main highway that would take them through to Troy's dorm in the distance.

"Zeke, you'll sleep through anything," he stated flatly. "And most nights you were to hungover to even resister where the hell you were."

Zeke shrugged his shoulders and nodded, knowing this was true. He loved a good keg party.

"Still, Taylor? I thought she hurt you pretty bad before she left," Zeke said.

"Yeah, man, she did. I don't...I don't know. Its just what it is. We're reconnecting or whatever. I don't think she wanted to dump me in the first place-it just seemed like the thing everybody did, you know? Maybe she missed me. I don't know. I don't care. I just know it's good right now," Chad said with final authority, clearing indicating he wanted to find another topic of conversation.

The car lapsed into silence and Chad's phone went off, causing him to burn crimson and he pulled it out one-handedly and quickly typed a message before shoving back into his sweatshirt pocket.

"Tell Tay I said hi!"

~0~

Julie bit her lip, absentmindedly scratching her IV scar, as she watched Jen pull down pictures and posted to lay them in an empty suitcase that was sitting on her bed.

"Still can't believe I'm going home tomorrow!" Jen said excitedly as she took down a picture of her and her friends. "I just want out of this place."

"Don't we all," Julie said as she took a seat, feeling slightly useless that she couldn't help Jen, but unit rules prevented her from doing so, as standing on a chair, reaching up and down, and running around to pack was labeled as 'exercise.'

"Soon enough, Jules, soon enough," Jen consoled. "You're going on pass soon! That should be fun."

"Yes, peachy," Julie agreed unenthusiastically, folding her arms across her chest. "With my parents. In Albuquerque. Kill me now."

"You can do it!" Jen said optimistically. "Have a little faith."

"Overnight, Jen, a whole weekend!" Julie continued with her rant. "Which you aren't suppose to do when you're an inpatient but somehow I am the exception!"

"I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that you've been here nine weeks, made little improvement as far as food and mental status goes, and you've been on one pass. They just don't want your insurance to pull out."

"Well they've fatten me up nicely, so if I don't eat all weekend I shouldn't pass out," Julie sighed. Jen turned her head sharply, sending her red ponytail flipping over her shoulder.

"That is the wrong mindset," Jen said, stepping down and abandoning a posted that now slipped over and folded itself in half. "Do not go into like that. You'll be with your parents, yes, but Jimmie too."

"Thank God Troy's staying," Julie said. "To see my parents and him go at it would have been awful."

"See, think positive," Jen prodded, sitting on her bed to face Julie. "And nothing is planned yet-nothing. You were just told it had to be within three weeks, but you have the power here to pick when, where, what you do and eat. They want you to be as comfortable as possible, Jules."

Julie nodded as she took in the truth in Jen's words.

"Jimmie's going to call later," she said slowly, "so maybe we can talk about it."

Jen nodded, clamping Julie on the shoulder. She smiled at her, and looked up at the camera trained on her bed.

"Come here," her roommate ushered, pulling her to the other side of the room and sliding her suitcase along with her foot. "You can pile all of these pictures and things up. If the camera doesn't see, there's no record of you doing it."

Julie smiled broadly and sank to her knees, pulling the stack of posters and things down off of the bad.

"Breaking the rules," she praised. "There's the Jen I know and love."

**~0~**

**Thoughts?**


	12. Chapter 12

**la maniera l'amo**

**Chapter Twelve**

**Disclaimer: Disney owns all characters associated with High School Musical franchise. All original characters are mine.**

**OK, so go ahead and kill me.**

**I deserve it.**

**I have no excuse or reason why I didn't or haven't post until now. I want to say writers block, which is true, or blame it on my time-consuming role in Grease, but I won't.**

**I'm sorry.**

**I just hope you all can forgive me.**

**And when I say expect a new chapter soon, I mean it. I'm typing it as we speak while watching HSM2 in honor of its 2 year anniversary. **

**Again, I'm sorry. Enjoy!**

**~0~**

Chapter Twelve

"They want to _what?" _

Jimmie Zara's voice jumped an octave as he processed what Mr. Bolton had just told him. "Are they crazy? No offense to you or your daughter sir, I know how hard she's been trying, but she's not ready for that. Not at all."

"No offense taken," Mr. Bolton sighed, running a hand through his hair, a gesture that reminded Jimmie very much of his son. "I am against it, but the insurance is threatening to pull out if Julie's not out on pass again. We were told there is no other way."

Jimmie fell back into a kitchen chair as Mrs. Bolton pulled her third batch of cookies from the oven. She baked when she was nervous or upset, a habit Jimmie wasn't necessarily upset over.

"Cookie, sweetie?" she asked, holding out the tray. Jimmie took one, devoured it, and Mrs. Bolton set the pan down on the table, allowing Jimmie to eat freely.

"What is she suppose to do for a weekend here?" Jimmie asked, rubbing the excess chocolate on his fingers onto the dark denim of his jeans. "Like, she can't be here with you, no offense again, but she'll kill you. Or herself."

"Oh, I know," Mr. Bolton said. "If-when she comes, I'm hoping you'll clear a weekend to just cater to her every whim. I'll clear you from practice, schoolwork, detention-I'm counting on you, Zara."

Jimmie gulped, aware of the insane pressure he was under, before nodding and replying, "I wouldn't let you and the misses down, Coach."

Jack nodded and clamped a hand on the young man's shoulder.

"I know you won't Jimmie," the coach said with confidence. "Which is why I am asking you to do something I know you have no interest in carrying through with, but as your coach, teacher, and the father of your girlfriend, I think it's for the best."

Jimmie's face froze, unsure of the news he was about to here. From all of the sitcom situations of this sort he had watched, Jimmie was under the momentary impression Mr. Bolton was either going threaten him if he should "ever hurt his little girl" or demand him to dump his daughter, neither which Jimmie every planned on doing in the near future. Which is why, when the coach said what he did, Jimmie breathed a sigh of relief and felt his chest seize in panic all in the same moment.

"I would like you to take the basketball season off," Jack said slowly, noticing the way Jimmie tensed under his grip. "I'm not taking you off the team- if you feel you're able to come back in a few months' time, the spot will be there. I'm not taking that away. But I just feel that for the time being, you need a break."

Jimmie was numb, although well aware of the plain sense that Mr. Bolton's words held. He knew that what was sure to be occurring in the coming months, with Julie in the hospital and possibly-_eventually-_ coming home, he would have little time and even a smaller amount of energy to keep up with his studies and the facade of a normal boy to even think about playing. He knew this, and nodded slowly, agreeing to his coach's words, although it did not ease the discomfort he felt doing so.

"Now let's get you to school," Mrs. Bolton broke in, her voice cutting through the silence. "I packed you lunch and your mother said to head straight to the studio after the last bell," she continued, sliding a brown paper bag across the counter to Jimmie, who smiled gratefully and twitched his head to brush his bangs out of his eye. The hair was no longer held back by a beanie since, per Julie's preference, he had stopped wearing them.

"Oh, I hate it when you boys do that!" Mrs. Bolton clucked. "Troy did the same exact thing- couldn't bear to get a haircut."

"Or maybe it had something to do with Gabriella telling his she liked it long," Coach Bolton suggested with a teasing grin, swinging his car keys around on a finger, turning to Jimmie. "Can I guess the hair has something to do with my daughter?"

Jimmie blushed, grabbed the brown bagged lunch and walked quickly into the foyer and out the door, calling, "Come on, Coach! Don't need another detention!"

~0~

"What do you mean you're _not playing?"_

Jimmie rolled his eyes as he pushed open the locker room door, allowing the noise of the gym class occurring to flood his ears.

"It's what it sounds like, Brendan," he replied. "I'm not playing this season."

Brendan Michaels, the lanky forward who, like Jimmie, was a junior and on the varsity squad, gawked at him, shaking his head to brush his bangs out of his eyes, sending water droplets to fall over Donny Dion, who was walking by Jimmie's side.

"How can you just _not _play?" he asked, running a hand through his curly black hair. "Jimmie Zara _not _playing basketball, is like, an oxymoron or something."

"He's not playing. Leave it alone," Donny suggested. "Clearly he's not gonna talk about it."

Jimmie continued to walk down the side of the gym, ignoring Brendan's thoughtful gaze as he stared at his back, following behind to a stop as he processed what Donny had said.

"Is this about a chick?" Brendan asked finally, causing Jimmie to turn and nearly laugh when he saw the look of deep thought and utter seriousness that had crossed the usually clownish boy's face. "A chick is the only explanation for your sudden insanity."

"Man, keep walking, I can't be late for chem," Jimmie said as Brendan began walking again. Only when the three were out of the gym and began walking down the corridor did Jimmie add, "And there's stuff going on, but it really comes down to the fact that I don't want to play this year. Just need a break."

"But _why?"_ Brendan pressed, in need of more information. He dodged a group of freshman and came back up to Jimmie's side. "Man, I wouldn't be bugging you but this makes no sense!"

Jimmie was, for the first time, thankful that his chemistry classroom was in close proximity to the gym, allowing him a means of escape, until he remembered with some annoyance that Brendan was indeed in the same class as he.

"It doesn't have to make sense," Jimmie responded, slamming his books down on his desk before sinking into his seat, Donny doing the same next to him. Brendan, thankfully, sat across the room but dropped his binder haphazardly on the desk adjacent to Jimmie's and took a seat, clearly not over with his interrogations.

"Dude, this is basketball we're talking about!" Brendan cried, adding emphasis to his statement with a throw of his hands. "The thing you live for! The sport you made varsity on sophomore year! It does have to make sense!"

"It has to makes sense to me," Jimmie said through gritted teeth, willing his chem teacher to come through the door earlier for once, and not take his daily cup of coffee in the teacher's lounge. "I really don't care if all of you don't get it."

"Man, what is with you lately?" Brendan sighed, leaning back into his stolen seat in defeat. "You've been MIA all the time, missing pre-season stuff, blowing off parties....what's up? It's not just the fact that you're not playing basketball that I'm confused about."

Jimmie ran a hand through his hair, clearly a nervous habit he had picked up from a certain retired Wildcat, and replied, "I've got a lot going on right now, okay? I'm sorry if it's bothering you."

"We just used to talk, man," Brendan said by way of explanation. "I mean, I know you and Donny are like, tight and all, but we used to talk."

"He's not much for talking unless your ridiculously skinny and can twirl about on your toes."

At the sound of the trilling British accent, Jimmie's heart skipped a beat and he turned slowly around in his seat to met Tiara Gold's eyes with a steely gaze.

"Just keep your mouth shut, Gold," he said in a low voice as Donny looked on fearfully and Brendan utterly confused.

"Is _she _the chick?" Brendan asked, causing the other three to juniors to look at him with a mixture of amusement, repulsion, and discomfort and cry, "NO!" in a loud tone that caused the rest of the conversation in the room to cease for a moment before picking up again.

"No," Jimmie said again quietly in Brendan's direction before turning back to Tiara. "Don't do this now. I'm not in the mood."

Tiara could see well what he meant. Jimmie seemed to have aged years in the past few months, ever since the start of school. His boyish, playful flirtation was gone as well as his somewhat pompous manner of self-confidence and his cocky air of being a basketball star. Now he was subdued and more mature, taking on a quieter, more controlled nature around his female classmates.

"I merely just thought you would want your good friends to know what was going on," Tiara said in an innocent tone, shrugging her shoulders as Jimmie glared at her, the tired bags under his evident that he did not feel like fighting with her, nor feeding into her schemes.. "It seems odd you haven't told them. Having a secret girlfriend is nothing to be ashamed of, Jimmie."

At her last words, Jimmie clothes his eyes for a moment as Donny jumped out of his chair, Brendan staring incredulously between his friend and classmate, emitting a loud laugh of disbelief.

"Dude, is she serious?" When Jimmie didn't reply and merely redirected his gaze towards the floor, Brendan gasped, "Shit, man, I knew it! There's a chick!"

"Oh, yes," Tiara assured, her voice laced with utter delight in seeing Jimmie's uncomfortable stance of dismay. "And not just any girl-"

"Okay, enough!" Donny cut TIara off with a firm tone. "Girl, why do you need to make other people feel like shit to get your kicks? Go screw with someone else."

Tiara's glossed mouth fell open in shock and amusement, for she had rarely heard Donny Dion speak so much, let alone call her off.

"Well, fine, if it's really not a point of interest," she sniffed, shouldering her large boho bag again.

"Wait, no, I'm finally getting some answers!" Brendan stood up from his chair, a fellow junior who's assigned seat he had been in coughing and pointing at his books in demand for them to be moved. He did so, dumping them on top of Jimmie's, before adding, "Man, details! Who, where, when?"

"Man, it's none of your business!" Jimmie exploded, unable to contain his emotions any longer. "If I wanted you to know, I would've told you. Tiara's being her usual bitchy, insecure self and trying to get in the middle of everything,"

"I was _not," _Tiara defended with a flip of her hair. "I was merely curious when we would get to meet the lucky gal."

"She's, uh, not around right now," Jimmie said as Tiara's smirk grew knowingly.

"Well, can you at least tell me who she is?" Brendan prodded. "Names help."

"Man, do not Facebook stalk her," Donny scolded as Brendan bluffed, "I _so _was not," although that was his intent.

"You'll find out at her name when you meet her," Jimmie said, Tiara adding at the same time,"Although you know her family."

Brendan, ignoring Jimmie and turning to Tiara, who offered more information, pressed, "I know who? Names, people, names!"

"Think former star WIldcat on court and stage, with his daddy dearest leading you through those tortures sessions called basketball practices," Tiara hinted, not so subtlety, but Brendan was not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Indeed, it was a moment in which Jimmie almost sprang at Tiara's throat before Brendan said in a loud tone, "A Bolton? Man, Troy's younger sis? The one from grade school?"

Many a head turned in Jimmie's direction as he slammed his head on the desk, hiding in shame and Tiara smile and patted Brendan on the shoulder,

"Good job," she said. "Glad you could figure that out/"

Brendan either did not understand Tiara's jab or chose to ignore it, instead kneeling by Jimmie and asking, "Man, I want to meet her! Does she go here?"

Jimmie lifted his head slowly, glared at Tiara and flipped a finger before saying to his buddy, "She's away right now. Hopefully will be back after the holidays."

"Well, can't she come back for Harvest Moon or something?" Brendan asked, Tiara adding, "Oh, what a wonderful idea! Then everyone will know your taking Jimmie, and stop spreading those awful gay rumors."

"I"m guessing by 'everyone' you mean you," Donny said pointedly, Tiara scowling at the shorter boy. "Just 'cause you want to jumpy my man here does not mean you should make his life miserable."

Tiara's mouth fell open, no words coming out, as Jimmie, although upset, had to suppress a laugh at his friend's words as Donny leaned down and said in a low tone that only Jimmie could hear, "What about what Coach said? About Julie coming home? Maybe that'd be a good weekend-give you something to do and get everyone else off your back."

Jimmie took in his friend's words, hearing the truth and slight brilliance to what he said.

"Man, enough with Gold," Brendan whined. "I want to here the details on the Bolton girl. When are we gonna meet her? Man, if she's hot I can't make promises I'll stay away."

"Then again, if Jimmie doesn't want us to meet her, maybe she's just...a lie," Tiara suggested whimsically, holding onto her last shred of self dignity. "None of the real girls here at school good enough for you, Zara?"

Jimmie slammed a fist down on the desk just as his chem teacher, coffee cup in hand, came into the room, looking confused at the scene before him.

"She's coming to Harvest Moon, okay?" Jimmie said to an excited Brendan and a sour-faced Tiara. "Now leave me the hell alone!"

~0~

Julie clung tightly to the phone, as if it were a life vest keeping her floating in the middle of the vast Atlantic, a la Titanic. She pressed her ear closer to the phone, feeling her cartilage piercing dig into her skin as she did so.

"Jimmie, you're joking, right?" she nearly pleaded, unable to wrap her mind around the concept that he wasn't. "This is...that idea...you can't be serious about that."

_"Julie, I want to say I'm not," _her boyfriend's voice came over the other end. _"I know it scares you-I get that. But think of the alternative. You really just want to sit around for 36 hours with your parents breathing down your neck?"_

Julie closed her eyes and shuddered at the mention of her upcoming pass.

"I'm trying _not _to think about it," she answered, eyes still closed as she fell onto her bed. "You know I don't want to come home."

_"But you are,"_ Jimmie countered, _"and nothing you do will change that."_

"Why are you not on my side about this?" Julie demanded, the hurt she was feeling creeping into her tone. With Jen gone, she had begun to feel more and more alone.

_"I am," _Jimmie insisted, _"but I'm being realistic. I don't want you to struggle anymore than you're going to have to."_

"And making me go out and buy a dress, go to a dance, and compare myself to every girl in the room is going to make it easier?" Julie asked, her voice rising with hysteria.

_"You'll be with me," _Jimmie comforted. Thinking of Tiara, he added, _"And you know you'll be the hottest one there. Plus, you'll get to meet my friends."_

Blushing, Julie toyed with the chord of the phone as she asked, "They don't think I'm real, do they/"

_"Well, they didn't until I mentioned your name," _Jimmie admitted, hoping this wouldn't cause her to freak out.

"Let me guess: every guy is jealous of you and every girl wants to kill me," she guessed in an amused tone.

_"Your not mad?" _

"They were bound to find out about me eventually," Julie said. "No use getting pissed over."

_"Good mindset. So you're cool with the whole dance plan than?"_

"Honestly, no. But I don't have a choice, do I?" she guessed, a feeling of dread growing in her stomach as she thought about the whole ordeal.

_"Nope. Hey, listen, the bell just rang, but I can go hide out in the bathroom and stay on the line if you want..."_

As much as Julie wanted nothing more than to talk, she knew that she would beat herself up later if she prevented Jimmie was missing crucial class time. The boy had already given up so much to come up to see her.

"No, no, go," she said. "Just call me later, okay?"

_"I promise," _Jimmie said. _"Hang in there, okay?"_

Julie nodded even though Jimmie was unable to see and said in farewell, "I'll expect a call after dinner!" She heard his laughter and the line cut off.

Julie let the phone fall from her fingertips burying her head under her pillow to muffle her scream, not wanting the nursed to come running in to yell at her for a noise violation.

"Eff my life!" she groaned, jumping when she heard a voice reply, "Honestly, fuck all of our lives. Not that they're not already screwed enough."

Julie looked up to see the small blond girl from the room across the hall, the same one whose mother had stared her down a few days' previous when Jimmie had forced her to venture out of her room for the first time,

"Can I, um, help you?" Julie asked, a confused look crossing her face as she looked past Jen's previous and currently unoccupied side of the room to the girl's face, realizing that she was much older than Julie had initially thought her to be.

"I couldn't help overhearing your phone call," the girl said apologetically, taking a tentative step into the room. "The older girls are in group right now; the hall's pretty quiet."

Julie swung her legs over the side of her bed and stood up.

"You can come in," she said, motioning her visitor in and then pulling two of the chairs set up in the room closer together. "But really," she continued, "why are you here? I was under the impression most of the unit really didn't like me."

"Honestly, most of us really want to be your friend," the girl replied. "And it's not that we don't like you. What pisses us off is watching you not try, watching you continue to give in while you have so much going for you, so many people here for you."

The conversation grew quiet for a moment as Julie processed the words, the meaning becoming clear even though a large part of her wanted to find no comfort in them. Despite the longing to find no comfort, another part of her did.

"Wow," she finally murmured. "Well then."

"Yeah," the girl agreed. "And the insanely hot brother you've got visiting you? He doesn't help. And the boy toy. Girl, what is in the water where you live?"

Julie laughed, cracking a smile for what seemed like the first time since she had been admitted.

"I'm Julie," she said, extending a hand.

The blond girl nodded and replied, "Anita. Don't laugh-my parents named me for my grandma."

Julie shrugged.

"I know a girl named Sharpay," she shared. "Your name's as normal as calorie counting to me."

Anita laughed, getting in on a joke Julie knew only a fellow ED patient would understand. And, for the first time, the dead weight in Julie's chest seemed to ease.

**~0~**

**Reviews? I was nervous about this one.**

**xoxo**


	13. Chapter 13

**la maniera l'amo**

**Chapter Thirteen**

**Disclaimer: I do not own and am in no way affiliated with Disney, Co. or the writers, directors and producers of HSM. I merely play in their world.**

**A/N: Go ahead. Kill me. I deserve it. I started at a new school, was in three shows, lost my muse, and deserve to be beaten up. I won't apologize to much, because I do feel deeply sorry. I did bang out a one-shot for the ZAAngels Write-Off and won! so clearly someone still loves me. I have the next three chapters for this written, so I'm thinking of weekly updates. Sound good? Hope you enjoy this.**

**~0~**

Chad stayed back as Ryan and Zeke ran ahead, Ryan sweeping Kelsi up into a hug while Zeke exchanged a manly handshake with Ryan. Taylor came slowly behind the two, pulling her standard black carry-on wheelie behind her. Chad had to smile- he actually found her practicality and unnerving stubbornness quite sexy. She approached him slowly, the quartet of their friends eyeing the two with interest.

"Hey," Chad called out in greeting, the two coming closer, with a foot of space still remaining between them. "Good flight?"

Taylor nodded, toying with the bracelet on her wrist. "You didn't have to come this far out of your way to get us," she finally said, letting her hands fall to her side. "I kinda feel bad! It's an extra what-"

"Taylor?"

"Yes?"

Chad took a deep breath before taking a step closer to her and saying in a bit of a rush, "Can we just move past the awkward stuff? 'Cause I haven't seen you in three months and I really just want to grab you and kiss you right now."

Taylor's mouth fell open, and for a moment Chad thought he had overstepped, until a grin spread over Taylor's face.

"Your redeeming your status as the lunkhead basketball man," she said. "I thought I was going to have to be the one to ask."

"I'm an idiot, not a douche," Chad defended. He grabbed her arms, pulling her closer. "Now come here."

Taylor felt her heart lift as his lips pressed down on hers, the feeling of secrecy and guilt she had buried for the past fews months quickly washing out of her system. _This, _she thought, _this feeling, this comfort, is why I'm back with him. It feels right. _Clearly their fellow Wildcats thought so as well, the wolf-whistles from the boys and cheers from Kelsi causing a few passer-bys to look on in irritated interest.

"Missed you," Chad murmured as they finally broke apart, brushing a lose strand of hair off of Taylor's face.

"Feeling's mutual," Taylor said with a laugh. "No skanky Redhawk cheerleader has corrupted you yet?"

"Nah, they have," Chad replied, earning him a slap on the chest from Taylor. "I have a thing for science geeks though."

"And where did you possibly find one who could put up with an afro loving basketball player?" Taylor teased in mock disbelief. "She must be quite the catch."

"Oh, she is," Chad agreed, leaning in to press a soft kiss to her lips again. "And sometime on this trip, the lunkhead _will _get her to himself."

"Hm, I'm counting on it," Taylor mused as Chad slung an arm around her shoulder, pulling her wheelie behind them.

"Please tell me you two are getting your own room," Zeke pleaded as the six made their way past the entrance gates. "Cause I put up with him in the dorm room- this trip was an excuse to get away."

"Oo, what trouble has Danforth cooked up now?" Kelsi said, leaning quizzically past Ryan to meet Chad's eye.

"Let's just say he's been having a little to much fun with his cell phone," Zeke said ominously, wiggling his eyebrows at Chad suggestively, causing Taylor to shoot a questioning glance at her boyfriend's face.

"Fun?" Jason said, his voice rising in amusement. "That's an understand. Dude's getting it off every night-_ow!"_

"Don't listen to him," Zeke said to Taylor, ignoring the yelp of pain he had just inflected his best friend with. "Dude doesn't know what he's talking about."

The pairs stepped onto the elevator, Taylor pursing her lips as Chad looked down at her, guilt written across his face.

"Oh, how I missed this," Ryan mused. "Life in New York is just to quiet."

**~0~**

Gabriella was awakened to the feeling of soft kisses being pressed against her neck. She turned her head and moaned softly into the pillow before cracking an eye open to see her boyfriend laying next to her, his head propped up on a hand, his hair a picture of bed-head.

"Good morning," she greeted groggily. Troy bent down to press another light kiss to her lips and Gabriella pulled away quickly.

"Ew, don't, my breath must stink," she complained but Troy merely cupped the back of her head and rolled the pair of them over so that she was resting on top of him, their bare skin separated by his comforter.

"You know," she murmured between kisses, "for saying you not 'holding up well,' I'd say you'd proved yourself wrong last night." Feeling something hard pressing into her thigh, she added, "And now."

Troy let out a throaty laugh as Gabriella rested her head on his chest and locked their gazes.

"But really, you're okay?" she asked as his hands began to rub her back. She reached up to rub his cheek before he took her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm.

"Feeling a lot better," he assured her. "Just glad to have you back."

"It's not like I went anywhere," Gabriella joked with a smile. "But I know what you mean."

"Personally, I'm just excited for Julie-free weekend," Troy went on, earning him a slap on the chest from Gabriella.

"Compassionate," she scoffed.

"You know what? I don't care if I sound like an ass. I've been dealing her for a month and my parents have been down there just like, chilling. We deserve time off," he said. "You know we do."

"I guess I can overlook you being ass by agreeing with the fact that you do need a break," Gabriella agreed. "You've done so much for her, with all the driving and sessions and all."

"It's not even like the sessions that I'm glad I can just forget about for the next few days," Troy tried to explain, putting a hand behind his head to support it. "Its the visits, the phone calls-the emotional stuff! After a one hour visit I'm ready to come home and crash."

Gabriella nodded her head, a lock of ebony hair falling out of her loose ponytail.

"I understand," she sympathized. "When my dad died, and even on his birthday or anniversary, I sit around looking through photo albums and just getting lost in my thoughts and it is sometimes more exhausting than say, an all day dress rehearsal with Ms. Darbus."

"Hey, now, I wouldn't go that far," Troy warned, causing his girlfriend to elicit a giggle. "Those things were hell."

Gabriella shrugged and rolled off him while saying, "Oh you loved it. You spent the entire time trying to work up the courage to ask me out. It was so cute."

"Oh, was it now?" Troy asked, rolling on top of her, pining her to the bed. "I remember the make-out sessions in the broom closest a little more than I remember trying to get up the courage to ask you out."

"Hm, of course you do. Do you just love to be on top?" Gabriella asked, referring to the fact that he constantly seemed to be hovering over her. She was unaware of the innuendo of the statement as it escaped her lips, and then gasped when Troy replied, "Well, if you were paying attention last night...." before pressing his lips to hers. She laughed and pulled away.

"We've come a long way from those days of backstage flirting," she said lightly.

"From there, to now, with you helping me get through my sister's hospital stay," Troy added. "Yeah, I'd say we've done pretty well."

"I'd say _you've _done pretty well," Gabriella amended, rolling back over so she was resting on top of his chest again. "I'm so proud of you, babe."

Troy snorted and ran a hand through his hair, mussing it in a way that looked so silly, yet so undeniably cute. Gabriella bent closer and kissed his nose quickly before spring up out of his grasp, grabbing his discarded undershirt from the floor to pull over her head.

"Aw, now that just blocks the amazing view," Troy said in a low, husky voice, one that nearly caused Gabriella to undress just as quickly as she had pulled the shirt on and jump back in bed with him. Able to find some ounce of willpower, though, she resisted and held out a hand to help him out of bed.

"C'mon," she said. "You have class, and practice, and I need to get back to school for my own academic purposes anyway."

Troy groaned and turned himself over, burying his face in his pillow. Gabriella dropped her arm and had to shake her head and giggle a bit at her boyfriend's childish antics.

Thinking of some ploy to lure him out of bed, she smirked at the thought that entered her mind and voiced it, her smile widening as she anticipated his reaction.

"The shower will be awfully lonely, than...." She let her voice trail off, stepping over Troy's clothing items that littered the floor as she made her way closer to the door, her gaze keeping an eye out for the bag of toiletries she kept stashed in his room.

Troy shifted the pillow slightly, a baby blue eye peering out at his girlfriend.

"Are you just being really annoying and making promises your not going to keep just to get me out of bed, or are you going to be good on your word with this whole shower thing?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow and propping himself up on his elbows. Gabriella rolled her eyes and tossed a pair of boxers his way, unearthing the bag of shower essentials under a pair of Troy's sneakers.

"Why do you I feel like your dorm mates wouldn't really appreciate it if we started going at it in the shower?" Gabriella asked before bending down to pick up the bag, Troy's shirt riding up a bit, giving him a peek at her bare bum, causing him to groan.

"And this is why I am so thankful I do not have a roommate," he said lowly, stepping into the boxers thrown his way as he got out of bed.

"Why, because this place is a mess? _I'd _hate it room with you and I'm the one who's in love with you," Gabriella said earnestly as Troy wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"Not because of the mess," Troy disagreed, nipping at her neck. "Because I get to have my way with you whenever the hell I feel like it."

"Yes, except when I have to get to class," Gabriella said, prying herself out of his grasp. As sexy as she was and as much as she loved the hot sex her equally hot boyfriend offered her, the good little straight 'A' student mindset would always come into play first. Troy dropped his arms, his face falling.

"I would fall for the bookworm," he moaned as Gabriella laughed, taking a step towards the door, feeling guilty for taking such amusement out of her boyfriend's torment.

"Aw, is the horny boy complaining?" Gabriella teased. "Because whiners don't get presents."

"Go take a shower," Troy ordered, "before I just drag you back here."

Gabriella let out her twinkling laugh, twisting the knob on the door and shrieking when she saw who was standing there.

_ "Chad?!?"_

"Whoa!" Chad, Zeke, and Ryan quickly covered their eyes, Jason staring at her stupidly before Taylor quickly pushed him out of the doorway.

"Why don't you come with me," she directed, grabbing Gabriella's wrist and yanking her into the hallway. "Where's the bathroom?"

"Down the hall on the right," Gabriella said, Kelsi and Taylor ushering her in that direction. The boys could hear the door slam behind them.

"Did Gab just stop wearing clothes?" Chad asked as he and the boys stepped into the room, Ryan closing the door behind them as Troy pulled a t-shirt over his head.

"Funny," he deadpanned. "Now what the hell are you doing here?"

"Impromptu road trip," Zeke explained, falling back onto Troy's bed. "Is it hygenically safe for me to be sitting here," he asked on second thought, eyeing the sheet. "Because judging from Gabriella's um, outfit..."

"Aw, leave him alone," Ryan broke in, settling onto Troy's desk chair. "In answer to your question," he added, turning to Troy, "my sister decided that you needed a spiritual pick-me-up or something, so here we are. As long as you need."

Troy ran a hand through his head, mussing his already messy bed-head.

"She seriously did that?" he asked in minor disbelief.

"Shocking, I know," Chad agreed, sitting down next to Zeke.

Jason shrugged. "I think it's kinda nice. Troy is sad and we, as his friends, make his happy. It was logical to suggest it."

Troy looked at Jason is disbelief.

"Dude, what is university doing to you?" he asked, teasingly. "Cross turning philosophical? What's next?"

"The news we're staying with you while we're here?" Ryan offered up. "Just thought you'd like to know."

Troy turned sharply, Zeke stifling a laugh as he took in Troy's reaction.

"Your raging boner going to be able to handle the separation anxiety?" Chad asked, causing Troy to reach for the nearest thing throw at him.

"Ah, try this one," Ryan helped, replacing Troy's phone with his sneaker, which he promptly threw across the room at his best friend. Chad ducked, avoiding the blow.

"Man, I've missed you," he said, a grin spreading across his face as he stood and embraced his best bud in a hug. "You gotta fill me in on all the drama. It's like your living and a soap opera or something."

"He's having enough sex to," Zeke mumbled to Jason with a smirk.

"Well at least I'm getting some," Troy shot back.

"Yes, how long exactly has this been going on?" Zeke inquired, letting the jab brush off his shoulders. He laid back on the bed, resting his hands behind his head. "Last time I checked you and Gab hadn't done the deed yet."

"Yeah," Jason echoed. "I would have definitely remembered you telling us that."

Troy coughed uncomfortably and sat down on the floor besides Chad, four pairs of eyes staring quizzically down at him.

"Do I really have to go into this?" he asked.

Ryan shrugged. "I'd pretend not to be interested, but you know we all want the story."

Troy sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"It was..."

"...a week or so after we got here." In the bathroom, Gabriella was facing a similar questioning process as her boyfriend. She sat curled up on the counter, Taylor and Kelsi standing before her. Taylor's arms were crossed, hip cocked out, her eyebrows raised questioning. Kelsi wore a wide- eyed expression, in slight disbelief.

"Why didn't you tell us?" she squeaked. "Call, text? _Hey, what's up? I'm good, just had sex_. Doesn't take forever!"

Taylor nodded. "She makes a valid point."

"I'm sorry," Gabriella apologized in a small voice. "Things were crazy, I just...it didn't seem like a huge deal."

"And in the big picture with everything, it's probably not," Taylor agreed, swinging her legs up to sit next to her. "But for you? It's huge!"

"So...," Kelsi sang, sliding up next to her, "how was it?"

Gabriella cracked a smile, sliding an arm around each of them in a one sided hug.

"I'm soo glad you guys are here," she said, "because we've got quite a bit of catching up to do."

**~0~**

**So this wasn't the longest chapter ever, but my muse is back. Next chapter might be semi-epic, with Julie, Jimmie, Tiara, the gang, and Sharpay all returning. I hope this was ok tho....R&R?**

**xoxo mads**


	14. Chapter 14

**la maniera l'amo**

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Disclaimer: I do not own and am in no way affiliated with Disney, Co. or the writers, directors and producers of HSM. I merely play in their world.**

**A/N: Well, I banged out this chapter very quickly- my muse seems to be functioning again, thank goodness. There are several new readers- so many people have favorited and added this story to their alerts! Thank you SO much!! Reviews are always appreciated, though, especially with chapter. I'm curious how you will respond to Julie's new friend.**

**I am working on an epilogue to 'Come Back to Me,' in answer to what many of you have asked.**

**~0~**

Chapter Fourteen

_"...she's going to get her sister to bring me a dress-her sister's a recovery ED chick, too. But it's such a good feeling to finally have someone to talk to! I have friends, Jimmie, for once."_

Jimmie let out a laugh, leaning his back against the wall of windows in the cafeteria, pressing his phone closer to his ear to try to block out the noise of the din surrounding him.

"That's great, Jules," he said earnestly, liking this Anita girl the more he heard about her. "And you had friends before, don't give me that."

_"If you call the bitchy ballerinas back at the old school friends," _Julie said with a snort.

"Hey, what about Ana?" Jimmie reminded, ignoring Brendan who had stood up and began waving his arms wildly in attempt to get his attention. "You always used to talk about her."

_"Yeah, I love Ana, she's called a few times and we've been emailing," _Julie said. _"Okay, so I'm not friendless, but it's nice to finally have a friend here, especially since Jen left."_

"I haven't seen you since, but you sound happier over the phone," Jimmie said. "Or at least more relaxed; maybe happy wasn't the right word."

_"It's just someone to bitch to," _Julie said. _"Less pent up energy."_

"You've been feeling okay, though? I'm so sorry I haven't come up."

_"You're driving up in two days to pick me up for the weekend- seriously, you add to me guilt. And I've been okay. For as awesome as it is to be bonding with someone, I still feel utterly huge. They've got me on bathroom observations now, so I seriously can't try anything."_

"Which is good," Jimmie reminded, groaning as he saw Brendan begin to make his way over to him.

_"What's wrong?"_

"Brendan," Jimmie said, irritation seeping into his tone.

_"The annoying forward with the stupid spikey haircut look?" _Julie asked. Last visit, she had demanded to be filled in on the doings of Jimmie's life; she said she felt like they talked about her to much. "No one sided relationships," she had demanded.

"You remembered," Jimmie commented. "And yeah, that one. He's on my case about quitting the team. He can't just accept it, he keeps badgering me to give him a reason _why._"

_"Just tell him your severely anorexic girlfriend is holed up in California and your too exhausted to do anything except sleep, attempt schoolwork, and see me," _Julie said.

Jimmie sighed, looking darkly as Brendan came closer.

"Honestly, he'd probably think I'm lying," he said darkly. "I have to go, he's here. Call you after group later?"

_"Sounds good. Be nice now!"_

Jimmie let out a small laugh and blew a kiss into this phone. "Later, babe."

"Dude, did you just kiss the phone? This girl's got you whipped," Brendan said, sliding up next to Jimmie. "You coming up to eat with us?"  
"Yeah, like I told you ten minutes ago," Jimmie said, a little harsher than he intended. He turned on his heal to make his way to the basketballer's table, but a hand on his arm stopped him.

"Dude, are you okay? I kinda came over to ask you like, away from everybody else."

Jimmie sighed and ran a hand over his face, sick of repeating himself when it came to Brendan.

"Yes, man, totally fine," he said as patiently as he could. "Just dealing with stuff, okay?"

"Yeah, I get that, but man, you _quit basketball,_" Brendan said, his tone deadly serious as if he were speaking of a much graver matter. "Something's gotta be up."

"Yeah, I'm dealing with shit," Jimmie said again. "Get that through your head so we can move on, okay?"

"I"m just trying to say I'm here if you need to talk," Brendan said, folding his arms across his white shirt. "Just like, you quit basketball, you stopped wearing beanies-"

"This is about my _hat?_" Jimmie asked, confused and desperately wanting out of the conversation.

"Man, no!" Brendan through his hands up before kicking the floor, his basketball sneaker squeaking and leaving a scuff mark on the linoleum. "I'll just come out and say it, since I'm not the only thinking it. It's just like, since you've been dating the chick, everything's changed. And the guys and me just want to make sure it doesn't have to do with her, you know? The girl? 'Cause it's bros before hoes. man. Don't give up basketball for the girl, 'cause she's not worth it in my book if she can't appreciate the thing you love."

Jimmie blinked for a moment, processing the very deep words that had just come out of Brendan's mouth, Brendan, who normally was not that deep of a thinker.

"It doesn't have to do with the chick," Jimmie assured. "You've known me since seventh grade, man. I don't stay with someone who's a bitch."

"Unless you count Gold," Brendan reminded.

"I wasn't with her!"

"Nah, but you were totally hitting her up last spring," Brendan teased, punching Jimmie's shoulder lightly. "Admit it."

Jimmie laughed and punched Brendan back. "Yeah, okay, I did. But every one of us did, too."

"Man, some of us didn't get over it," Brendan said, his eyes scoping out the blond in question, holding court on the balcony with the fellow drama club members.

"Please, don't even think about it," Jimmie pleaded. "Spare yourself. Not even a hookup. She's scary."

Brendan looked dejected for a moment, but turned back to his friend and said, "Look, I know we're not as close as you and Dion, but I'm always here, man. Seriously."

Jimmie slapped Brendan's back and swung his arm loosely around his shoulders.

"Thanks," he said earnestly. "Now let's go. I'm starving."

"Well, if you didn't take your little romantic phone calls in the middle of lunch-"

"And for that, I'm stealing your pizza"

"Not if I get to it first!" Brendan called, taking off at a run, Jimmie laughing and following close behind, dodging students and tables as his chased his friend up the stairs to the balcony, where the juniors on the basketball team sat- the middle tables occupied by Troy and Chad their junior and senior years were strictly senior property now.

"Man, your dead!" Jimmie taunted, running past a group of terrified freshman girls before tripping over something, nearly falling flat on his face before catching himself on the balcony railing. He turned, several choice words on the tip of his tongue, and met the smirking gaze of Tiara Gold, clad in a delicate white-and-gold lace dress, looking far more angelic than was her nature.

"Gold, what's your problem?" he said angrily. "You want to kill me?"

"Seeing as your no longer the star asset of the basketball team, I'm sure you wouldn't be missed," Tiara retorted with ease, sitting on the edge of the round red table, crossing her ankles as she added, "I merely wanted to say hello. We don't get to talk anymore!"

"Um, we never _did,_" Jimmie reminded, shaking his head. Why were girls so confusing?

"But of course! All those lovely chats about Julie," Tiara reminded with a blinding smiling, referring to her knowledge of Julie's present condition, gained through Tiara's well-developed trait of eavesdropping. "Is she still coming this weekend?"  
"Yes," Jimmie answered tightly, looking for any way out of the conversation. Across the room, Donny and Brendan- the sought-after piece of pizza in his mouth- looking on in confusion.

"I'm so looking forward to meeting her," Tiara gushed. "Let's just hope you dress a bit better that night."

Jimmie look down, taking in his worn blue jeans, green t-shirt, and Vans, shaking his head.

"I'm not doing this right now," he said. "I'm dead tired, Gold, and the bitching? I'm sick of it and it's _not _a turn on, so do us all a favor and stop trying so hard."

He made he was over to his table, stealing Donny's plate of fries as he sat down.

"Man, what was that?" Dion asked.

"Gold's got some annoying infatuation with me," Jimmie huffed angrily, chomping down on a fry. "It's getting old really fast."

"Just send her my way," Brendan murmured, his gaze locked on Tiara's sulking figure.

Dion thumped him across the back of the head as Jimmie yelled, "Man, I said _no!"_

**~0~**

Back on the West coast, the sunny afternoon found the Wildcats at a local park, complete with a playground, basketball and tennis courts, baseball fields and the local pool and recreation club. The gang had arrived early, setting up a picnic lunch before the boys had started an innocent game of pickup that had now progressed to a full scale competitive game between Troy and Zeke, Jason and Chad, with Ryan subbing in when needed, actually holding his own for never having had basketball training.

Gabriella felt relaxed and calm for the first time in what seemed like weeks- the girls had crashed at dorm, bonding with Claire, and staying up far later than they should have; Gabriella had nearly been late for her Wednesday morning class. Now she sat back, feeling the sun warm her skin, enjoying the sight of her sweaty, shirtless boyfriend running about.

Taylor lowered her aviator shades away from her eyes, looking questioningly at Gabriella.

"I'm enjoying this site too, babe," she teased, motioning to the boys, "but you want to come engage in conversation?"

"Oh, shut up," Gabriella laughed, but scooted closer to Kelsi and Taylor. "What, did we not do enough catching up last night?"

"We're not catching up now," Kelsi explained, her face partially hidden in shadow by her large sun hat. "I was actually just getting some more information on Taylor's steamy cross country text-affair."

"It's not an _affair,_" Taylor admonished.

"Well you didn't exactly tell anybody about it, so in a way, it sort of is," Gabriella agreed.

"I didn't even more for it to turn into anything," Taylor said, sitting back on her elbows. "We just started talking again, after hearing everything that had been happening out here with Julie, and one thing led to another!"

"Yes, we covered this last night," Kelsi reminded. "And you, in your slightly drunken haze, spilled some very interesting details."

"Ones which you will not repeat!" Taylor squealed. She turned to Gab. "Please tell me I had some restraint. I seriously was so tired."

"And wasted. Still cannot believe Zeke didn't get carded," Kelsi said.

Oh, I know," Gabriella said. "I still cannot believe you guys flew out. I needed last night."

"Oh yes you did," Taylor said for what seemed like the one hundredth. "Now seriously, how embarrassing was it?"

Gabriella sighed; she had tried to change the topic. "Well, let's just say I learned more about Chad Danforth's...ability than I had cared to know."

Taylor slapped a hand across her face and moaned.

"And this is why I hate alcohol," she whined. "I just can't say no!"

"You sure your talking about alcohol?" Kesli teased.

"Jeez, Kels, New York has sure brought you out of your shell!" Gab observed with a laugh. "I like it!"  
"Hm, yes, so does Ryan!" Taylor taunted. Kelsi waved her hand, dismissing the topic.

"I told you all the details last night," she said. "And I don't want to be all doom and gloom, but I did mean to ask Gab how you two have been...coping."

Gabriella sighed, picking at the threading of the blanket spread beneath them. She looked out to the boys again, Troy shooting her a thumbs up before resuming play. She knew the girls would ask about the situation soon enough- she just didn't want to talk about it. The purpose of their visit was to _escape _the drama.

"It's been okay," Gabriella said, avoiding their gaze. "Up and down."

"Gab. I get it. It's hard to talk about." Taylor moved closer to her side, putting an arm around her shoulder. "But I'm sure you haven't _had _anybody to talk to. Here we are!"

"So talk," Kelsi added. Gabriella took a deep breathe and before she could stop herself, it seemed to all come spilling out.

"It was awful at first. He wouldn't tell me anything and I had to fight to get in. It wasn't until I got the hospital that I understood why he was doing it- the pain, the emotion...it was all overwhelming. But I _wanted _to deal with it, because if he shut me out, it would put that much more a bridge between us. He's been coasting through school, busting his butt at basketball, and then uses sex as a means of escape for a while."

"Not that that part bothered you," Taylor broke in. "I'm sorry, I had to."

Gabriella shook her head in amusement and continued. "Yeah, well. He stopped taking the anti-depressants, Julie was giving him grief, and he just blew up at me the other day. I'm sure everything he said was just the panic, the sadness talking, but it hurt to hear. He made it seem like everything I've been doing hasn't been worth it." She pulled the hair off of the nape of her neck, twisting it into a bun. "I'm fully supportive of Julie, and I want her to be healthy, but I'm relieved she's away this weekend. I feel selfish saying it but...this just isn't how I pictured this year. At all."

"None of us thought this would happen," Kelsi comforted. "Least of all you. You didn't even know who Julie _was, _for Christ's sake. You imagined coming out here with the love of your life, living together and starting to make a future, to reach your dreams. And then there was a rather large road block in the way."

"I wouldn't say _large; _she is anorexic," Taylor admonished, earning her sharp looks from her girlfriends, both biting back smiles. "Sorry, I couldn't resist."

"No, trust me, the jokes are appreciated," Gabriella said, her eyes following Troy, his face lit up in a laugh. "Smiles have been a rare sight around here."

"Put it this way, Gab," Taylor said, offering yet another dose of practical advice. "This isn't going to be an easy fight, but if you two make it, it gives me a lot of hope for your future."

**~0~**

Julie sank onto her bed, feeling sick and uncomfortable after a long dinner hour. Her suitcase lay empty at the foot of her bed; her boyfriend and father were coming to pick her up in 24 hours and she had made no attempt to dig through the mess of her hospital closet to pack anything.

She reached over for her phone, dialing the necessary information from her calling card.

"Pick up, pick up!" she murmured, swearing in aggravation when she heard Jimmie's voicemail. "Ugh!"

"The boyfriend not picking up?" Anita guessed, entering the room and crossing to the window seat, wrapping her sweatshirt tighter around herself. "Can I borrow a blanket?"

Julie didn't respond and Anita plucked the knitted blanket- made by Mrs. Bolton- off her bed and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"He's probably at practice," Anita reminded.

"Off the team!" Julie moaned into her pillow.

"Riiiight. Well, he could have his phone off. Doing homework, maybe? Or at the studio?"

Julie's head popped up at the latter suggestion, her eyes twinkling for a moment before she let her head fall back on the pillow.

"He'll call later, he always does," she said. "It's mean of me to bug him to much."

"Glad to hear you finally admit that," Anita said with a smile.

"What, admit that I call him to much? I'm fully aware of that. The darling therapist says I have dependency problems; I told her it's a little thing called boredom."

"I didn't mean the calling thing," Anita said. "I meant you admitting you're a bitch."

"Funny," Julie deadpanned. "Can we not do the teasing thing tonight? I'm fat, stressed, and have to pack."

"Oh, throw some pajamas in a bag and go," Anita dismissed with a wave of her hand. "I have the dress in my room."

"And I noticed how you didn't disagree with the fact that I'm fat," Julie pouted.

"I'm not even starting on that," Anita said. "I feel the same way about myself and we know it's not true; no use bitching about it."

Julie rolled onto her back and Anita moved to sit at the foot of her bed, careful to avoid the glare of the camera poised in the corner of the room.

"Why us?" Anita said suddenly, speaking the thought on both girl's minds. Julie shook her head, utterly exhausted at the thought.

"Who knows," Julie said quietly, answering not only Anita but the unspoken question that had been circling in her head. "Who knows."

**~0~**

**Thoughts?**

**-xoxo mads**


	15. Chapter 15

**la maniera l'amo**

**Chapter Fifteen**

**Disclaimer: I do not own and am in no way affiliated with Disney, Co. or the writers, directors and producers of HSM. I merely play in their world.**

**A/N: Weekly update! Super busy after having off for a week because of the snow!! Anyway, not thrilled with the first part of the chapter, but I like the second part, with Gabby...I just hope I wrote it well enough to show she's in pain, and not just being melodramatic. Let me know, honestly! Your comments are always welcome!!**

**~0~**

_Most awkward car ride of my life. N we're not even lyk, halfwhere there._

Jimmie sent the text off to Donny and closed his phone with a snap, glancing sideways out of the corner of his eye at Coach Bolton who, wearing a pair of Aviator sunglasses, looked like an older version of son.

"You okay there, Zara?" Coach asked. "Seem awfully quiet."

"Yeah, yeah, totally," Jimmie assured. "Just a long day at school."

The two had departed from East High right after seventh period- the usually school day was eight, but Jimmie's final one had been a study hall that day, allowing for the early departure. Jimmie liked Coach Bolton; he respected him and enjoyed playing under is direction. Team pizza dinners had even proved Coach could be a fun companion. Now, though, in his position as his girlfriend's father, Coach proved to be intimidating- more so than usual.

Jimmie felt his phone buzz and he flipped it open, reading the sarcastic but reassuring text from Donny, who also added he would be unable to text for the next few hours due to his after school karate class. Jimmie closed the phone with a sigh, reclining his seat slightly, determined to catch some shut eye.

"How's Dion?" Coach asked, clearly not observing Jimmie's intention to sleep.

"He's good," Jimmie replied, hoping that, by keeping his answers short, he would eventually drop the conversation.

"It's not odd you're best friend's a freshman?" he pressed on. Jimmie shifted in his seat, sitting up slightly.

"Nah, not really," Jimmie replied, answering the question many presented when they found out about the age difference between he and Donny. "He's mature, I'm kinda immature, so I uh, guess it works."

Coast laughed at the mention of Jimmie's self-professed immaturity; he had witnessed it many a time.

"Don't question something that works, right?" Coach joked. "It was like that with Troy and Gabriella: made no sense and now look at them."

Jimmie smiled; Troy and Gab were the perfect couple and, as Donny had the said, the older version of he and Julie. The two polar opposite personalities who had managed to fit.

"How uh, how have they been doing? With everything, I mean," Coach said, the edge discernible in his voice.

Jimmie shrugged. "Fine, I guess. I really haven't been there much when the two of them have. You probably have been around them more."

Coach let out a dry laugh, running a hand over his hair.

"Call me father of the year, but I haven't been up to see her much," he admitted. "I'm not proud to say it. We stayed up there the first week, visiting every night, but it upset her and the doctors just asked to...stay away."

Jimmie remained silent, sensing Coach was going to continue.

"She didn't really turn around until you started visiting. The reports we got from the doctors during those first weeks you were there...she was still doing poorly, but her mood was better when you were around." He looked down at his young player. "I have to thank you for that."

Jimmie was taken aback.

"You know, I was worried I was going to get the "If you hurt my daughter" speech on this car ride," he admitted, "so its a relief to hear you say that."

"Honestly, Zara, Julie does enough to hurt herself on her own," Coach said with a smile. "As bad as that sounds. I guess I should be giving you the "If you don't protect my daughter" talk. Especially with the dance this weekend."

"Don't worry," Jimmie assured. "Wasn't planning on letting her out of my sight."

**~0~**

Julie heard her father's voice down the hall, followed by Jimmie's, as the nurses greeted him by name. Anita sat comfortably by her side, both sitting on the edge of her bed, Julie's duffle tucked up under their feet.

"You have the dress?" Anita double-checked again. Julie nodded, remaining silent.

"Oh, you're going to be fine," Anita said, nudging her side. "Say something!"

Julie shook her head, moaning as she buried her face in her hands.

"Hey, ladies!"

Both girls turned their heads to see Jimmie, followed by his lanky frame, appear around the edge of the doorway. He came in, giving Julie a quick kiss on the cheek, before turning to Anita.

"You must be the famous Anita," he said, extending a hand. Anita accepted with a smile.

"That I am," she replied. "I've heard a lot about you."

"Oh, well, I hope it was all good!" Jimmie joked.

"Of course." Anita tossed her ponytail over her shoulder, zipping up her hoodie. "We'll bond later, though. Your girl here is freaking out slightly."

Jimmie knelt down to be level with his girlfriend's face, putting a hand on her shoulder, another brushing her bangs back off of her face.

"Your dad's waiting in the hall," he said. "He didn't want to come and intrude."

"You've got this," Anita reassured, Jimmie stepping back to allow the friends to hug. "Give me a call if you can, okay?"

Julie nodded, her face pale. Jimmie picked up her duffle and put her a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"It's okay," he consoled. "It's just your dad, there's nothing to be scared of!"

Julie shook her head again and shrugged of his embrace, saying quietly, "C'mon," before walking out of the room.

Jimmie stayed routed in place, the weight of the responsibility of the weekend weighing heavily on his shoulders.

"Is she going to be okay?" he asked Anita quietly, not turning to look at her.

"I honestly don't know," Anita said, coming to his side. "She's turned around lately but...she's been here almost 10 weeks, since the last week in August. It's the second week in November. Most people are in outpatient by now."

"Julie's not like most people," Jimmie mused ruefully. He looked back over his shoulder, adding, "Take care, okay?" before following his girlfriend out. Anita watched him go, crossing her arms over her chest, suddenly chilled, praying that her friend would make it back intact, emotionally and physically.

**~0~**

Gabriella slid her key into the lock, rattling the stubborn doorknob until it opened with a click, revealing Taylor and Kelsi sprawled out over her bed, Clare on hers sleeping, and a familiar blond painting her toes on the floor.

"Um, hi," Gabriella greeted, a little wary. "Sharpay, it's nice to see you, but when did you get here?"

"Like, an hour ago," the blond replied, biting her lip in concentration as she applied a final coat of candy pink nailpolish to her pinky toe. "Yes! Okay, done. Anyway, yes, I just got in. Don't worry, I'm not crashing here. No room. My dad has a business partner- with a delicious nineteen year old son, I might add- who lives right around here, so I'll be with them."

"Okay," Gabriella said, stepping over Kelsi's duffle bag to set her laptop and books on her desk. Where Sharpay was residing was the least of her worries. "Does Troy know your here?"

"I'm the one who organized this," Sharpay reminded. "But yes, he does. I did call to let him know I was coming."

"Well, as long as he's calm, it's nice to see you!" Gabriella greeted properly, leaning down to hug the blond. "I'm sorry I came in late."

"How was class?" Taylor asked, looking up from her textbook. Gabriella shrugged and glanced at the clock, which read 4:12. "Long. Two hours, and I'm starving." She fell back against Clare's bed, startling her roommate awake. "Oops. Sorry."

Clare blinked the sleep out of her eyes, her hair a disarray of bedhead.

"It's all good," she said. "I've slept all day."

Kelsi giggled.

"You did come in late," she reminded. "Poor Adrian looked like he was about to have a heart attack when he saw all of us girls in here."

"It's his dream, four girls sharing two beds," Clare said with an amused smile and a roll of her eyes. "Boys."

"Speaking of, they should be here in a few minutes," Taylor broke in. Gab's face turned into a mask of question, and Taylor went on. "Chad called while you were in class," she explained. "Troy was out at practice and the guys were driving around and apparently found some Mexican restaurant they wanted to try."

"Sounds fun!" Gabriella said, adding to her roommate, "And you're more than welcome to come."

"I'm tempted," Clare admitted, "but Ad's leaving for an away game tomorrow and I want to see him off."

"He's leaving for games already?" Gabriella asked. "Seems soon, doesn't it?"

"It's just a pre-season game," Clare said with a yawn, getting up to gather her clothes and bathing supplies. "Wish it weren't away, though. Most of his games are on the rode this season. I'll be back!"

She swept out of the room to ready for her date and Gabriella stood up, crossing to the calendar she kept tacked up above her desk.

"Shit!" she exclaimed, causing Taylor to look up from her book as Kelsi and Sharpay also looked up in questioning surprise. Gabriella never cursed unless something really shocked her.

"What's up?" Taylor asked, closing her book and crawling over the mess of sheets to kneel on the edge of the bed, looking over Gabriella shoulder. The two other girls came over as well, forming a cluster around the desk.

"What are we looking at?" Kelsi asked, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

"That." Gabriella pointed to the block labeled the 21st where, in her neat block handwriting, the words "T Away at U of A" were written.

"Oh," Taylor breathed. "That come up suddenly."

"I mean, I knew it was coming- November means basketball season is going to pick up! I know that! All he does when he's not here or with Julie is go to practice! It's a cult! A crazy, time consuming, boyfriend-stealing cult!"

"Okay, Gabby, breathe," Kelsi broke in, taking her friend by the shoulders and guiding her back to sit on the bed. Sharpay knelt in front of her while Taylor and Kelsi sat on either side. "Breathe."

"Why is she freaking out?" Sharpay stage-whispered to Taylor, who shrugged, unsure of what was causing her best friend to seemingly hyperventilate.

"Gab, why are you freaking out?" Sharpay repeated, this time snapping her fingers in front of the brunette's face. "Hello, you in there?"

"I'm here, it's just..." Gab closed her eyes for a minute, two tears spilling out. "Goddamnit, I am so over emotional! Stupid PMS."

"What's wrong? Talk to us, it's why we're here," Taylor urged.

"It's just...I can't even keep track of days, it feels like, let alone what month it is, let alone the fact it's time for _basketball season." _She let out a small laugh. "I've been dating a basketball player for over a year and a half and I can't even remember _that. _It just seems so...weird, almost, that in the midst of this craziness, something as normal as this is coming up. These past few months have just felt like Twilight Zone and Troy...it'll just be weird to resume something as normal and constant as the season."

"Maybe it'll be for the best," Kelsi comforted. "Something to take your mind off of everything. It could be a good escape, a good way for you two to start healing, you know? Julie's not going to be in the hospital forever. Maybe it'll be a good thing for you to distance yourself."

"At this rate, it seems like Julie _will _be in the hospital forever," Gabriella said dryly. "And I'm sick of it. Troy has been a mess and I'm worried he'll do something stupid and give up the team to stay around with her.

"Don't let him," Taylor said simply.

"What?"

"Don't let him. Remind him what basketball is to him, how important it is. Force him to go on the road, if you have to. You have that power, Gab, he owes you in a sense for putting up with all the bullshit these past few months."

"But Julie-"

"Look, Kelsi's right," Sharpay broke in. "I love Julie, but she's being a stubborn little bitch right now, and I'm seriously hoping her pass this weekend is a wakeup call. You and Troy have done everything and more- maybe it is time to start putting some distance between yourselves and Julie's recovery. Get back to your reality and let Julie start focusing on getting back to hers. You've done all you can- if Julie hasn't made improvement in ten weeks with you there, nothing will change if you _aren't. _She's decided to fight this alone. Maybe it's time to let her."

"But what about Troy?" Gabriella fretted. "God, I feel like such an idiot, freaking out about nothing."

"It's not nothing. Reality hit you," Taylor comforted. "It's happen to all of us! With me, it was in April, last week. I had gotten my final acceptance letter and everything just hit me: all the hard work I had done between school and the SATs, it was over. I had four weeks left at East High and I hadn't really taken the time to "take everything in" or what have you. I had been in such a haze with everything, and there are those moments when everything just-"

"Is put in perspective," Kelsi offered. Taylor nodded.

"Exactly," she agreed. "And don't worry about Troy. I'm sure the U of A game has been at the forefront of his mind for weeks now, he just didn't bring it up because he knows you to well, and he had an inkling this might've been how you'd react."

"Everything's moving around us," Gabriella murmured quietly. "And sometimes, I just feel like I'm stuck."

Taylor, Sharpay, and Kelsi looked at one another, one fact made certain in all of their minds: Gabriella was hurting, more than she was letting on.

**~0~**

**Shorter than usual, I apologize. Next chapter will cover dinner, Troy and Gab, and Julie's arrival at home. Some interesting family dynamic coming up, with Julie _finally _getting hit with a good sense of reality. 'Bout time, right?**

**R&R!**

**xox mads**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

****I won't even begin to make excuses; the delay was mean and I'm incrediably sorry and so forever grateful for those who still choose to read and support this story. It's hard to write, and my life is crazy busy and mo', but I'm writing a bit of the chapter each day and made it a NYR to update much more faithfully. Much love.****

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Dinner that night was a jolly affair; the restaurant Chad had unearthed was actually quite a find, cozy and intimate with low lights and delicious that food that even Gabriella agreed rivaled her mother's. The gang had pushed two tables together and gathered around, laughing and scoring a drink off a particularly flirty waitresses who seemed to have a soft spot for Troy. He took great pleasure in languidly kissing Gabriella as she stared on jealously. For the first time in a while, Gabriella felt the weight that had been pressing down on her lift slightly, and it seemed Troy felt the same; her heart nearly broke in seeing him smile and laugh through the meal.

After dinner, they piled into both pickups and took the long drive to the beach, worth it when sitting under the stars, the sound of the waves crashing on the shore. Ryan, after revealing his secret past as a Boy Scout, even managed to set up a bonfire.

It was now hitting half past eleven, with the couples going off on their own- Chad and Taylor on a walk, Zeke and Sharpay by the water's edge, Ryan and Kelsi as well, with Jason setting up camp with his laptop and latest Hitchcock film- leaving Gabriella to curl up into Troy's chest, a blanket wrapped around the pair.

"Thanks again for dinner," Gabriella said, pressing a kiss to Troy's collarbone. "You were right, it was a bit like home."

"We'll be back home mooching off your mom's cooking before we know it," Troy joked, giving her a squeeze. "My, um, my game's coming up soon, if you remembered-"

Gabriella shifted her body, turning to sit sideways in his lap instead of having her chest pressed to his back. "I remembered today, actually. Saw it on my calendar and completely freaked."

"Aw, why?" Troy asked, his force compassionate but with a teasing edge. Gabriella toyed with fraying edge of the blanket, saying softly, "Well, I was actually worried about how you'd react. I'm glad you remembered, because I wasn't sure I'd have the heart to remind you."

"Hey, Gab, why? I'm fine with it, really. Looking forward to kicking Chad's ass, honestly," Troy joked. "Nothing to be upset about! And I figured we'll just stay up for Thanksgiving, seeing as the game's that Monday anyway."

"Something as mundane, as _ordinary _as one of your games coming up...it seems almost weird," Gabriella mused. "Everything _normal, _everything not circling around Julie."

"Things are going to stop circling around Julie soon," Troy said, squeezing her waist as he lay back on the sand, propping his head up with his free arm. "Jimmie texted me; they made it back home. Although he did say the tension was like, palpable. My dad and Julie literally said five words the whole way."

"Her disease aside, she _was _aware from home for what, six years at school?" Gabriella reminded. "Julie's always seemed very independent to me."

"Not this weekend she won't be," Troy said, stretching out slightly, Gabriella readjusting so as to be still curled to his side. "I told Zara she's freaking not allowed to go to the bathroom alone. She's on lockdown."

Gabriella giggled, causing Troy to look down at her questioningly.

"What?"

"Under any other circumstance, telling your sister's boyfriend to spend every waking minute with her probably would lead somewhere I know you wouldn't want to think about," she teased as Troy's face grimaced.

"Yeah, I probably just set myself up for an awkward encounter in the future," he agreed, adding, "It's the plus side of being the oldest though." He rolled over on top of her, resting his weight on his forearms positioned on either side of her head. "No one's overly protective of me, meaning no interruptions."

Gabriella smiled into his kiss.

"Then clearly you're forgetting about me, man." Chad's voice interrupted them yet again as he fell gracelessly onto the sand beside the pair, Taylor coming to Gabriella's other side. "It's like my signature move."

"Always something to be proud of," Troy huffed as Gabriella inched off his lap to sit beside Taylor. He ran a hand through his hair before mumbling quietly so only his best friend would hear, "Seriously, man, you have no timing."

Chad glanced at Gabriella and Taylor, making sure the pair was engaged in their own conversation, before replying, "In my defense, you two only looked like you were talking. Unless even that is a turn on for you." He had meant the latter as a joke but as Troy shifted uncomfortably and glanced his lap, Chad let out a guffaw; Gabriella and Taylor jumped and Troy hit him across the back of the head.

"Ow!"  
"Seriously, man? Do you process anything before you say it?"

"I'm sorry." Chad's grin was still huge, finding great amusement in his friend's predicament. "There's the ocean, it's probably freezing." Troy glared. "Aw c'mon, man you have to admit its hysterical. You're so whipped."

"I'm the one having cross-country phone sex," Troy shot back, watching as Chad's face flushed.

"You're dead, man," he said. "My advice? Start running."

Troy looked at him incredulously. "Dude, what are you, six?" But seeing the look of revenge etched into Chad's face, he flung the blanket aside and took off, Chad on his heels; Chad dove, tackling him at the water's edge, and Gabriella and Taylor looked on.

"Well, now at least he has a legitimate reason to drive home without a shirt," Gabriella said happily as Taylor rolled her eyes.

"Save it for the dorm room."

* * *

It was an odd feeling, being back home. She suppose this was how returning soldiers felt- everything was the same, yet different, and somehow you had to find a way to fit yourself back into the puzzle that was life. The problem was, Julie mused, she couldn't find a way to fit, and she almost didn't want to.

"Are you hungry, sweetie? Cold? Do you need anything?" Mrs. Bolton fretted. It was almost as if her daughter was a stranger in her home; she didn't know how to act around her.

"I'm fine, Mom, thanks," Julie said quietly, surprising both herself and her mother with the gentle tone of her voice, calm and controlled, quite unlike the experiences of communication that occurred between the two in the hospital two months previous. "Just tired, think I'll head up to bed."

After kissing Jimmie goodnight and watching the taillights of his mom's car disappear down the street, she slowly made her way upstairs. Her room seemed just as she had left it at the end of August; a little cleaner, from where her mother had straightened up, but still the same. Sundresses still hung in the front of her closet, a tank top and flip-flops sitting idly under her dance bag. She sank to the floor, pulling the bag toward her, lifting her toe shoes out with reverent grace. They, too, had remained the same- the satin toes scuffed and fraying, the ribbons hanging loose. Knowing full well it was against every rule mandated at the hospital, Julie slid the protective toe pads on before lacing up her shoes, holding onto the back of her desk chair as she slowly rose up, a feeling of deja vu and then regret and guilt washing over her as she did so- not from breaking the hospital's rules, but from the knowledge that she had lost three months of training, and possibly many more, if she didn't snap out of it. The thought was startling- it was the first time it had dawned on her that she was essentially throwing away her dance career, the one thing she loved, the one thing that had kept her sane through the drama-filled days of high school.

Losing dance had been the threat and motivation tool most employed by her doctors; _Remember what you're losing, _they would say, _do you not want to dance again? Is it more important to whittle away and lose what you've worked so hard for? _She would blow the remark off, stubbornly telling herself that they didn't understand, therefore nothing they said could be truthful. Now, though, feeling herself grow tired after a minute on her toes, when before she could make it through _two hour _classes without tiring...

"Julie?"

The sound of her father's voice pulled her from her reverie, Julie coming down off her toes to sit on the edge of her bed. Her father looked at questioningly and Julie opened her mouth to reply, but found herself at a lose for words.

"I...thanks for bringing my bag up," she mumbled. Her father nodded and, as if on a second thought, crossed the room to press a kiss to the top of her head.

"I'm glad your home, sweetie," he said quietly, giving her shoulder a small squeeze before turning to the leave, closing the door behind him. Julie stared after him, amazed at how lenient her parents were being. She had expected to be under surveillance all weekend.

Her parents gave her similar freedom the next morning when Julie awoke to find the clock reading 11:12. The doctors has specifically said to have her on the same meal schedule as the hospital, meaning someone should have woken her up at nine. Pulling on a sweatshirt and sliding into her slippers, Julie made her way downstairs, utterly confused.

"Um, good morning," she said, crossing her arms over her chest as she made my way into the kitchen. Her father was sitting at the counter, the paper open, while her mother looked up from the large bowl of batter she was mixing and greeted with a smile, "Morning, sweetie." Jimmie, seemingly now an ever present part of the household, was in the den watching the sports highlights; he muted the volume and jumped over the back of the couch to come into the kitchen, taking a sit next to her father at the island.

Julie made her way closer and slid onto a stool, her stomach turning as she eyed the cake batter. "Wasn't someone suppose to get me up to eat or something? Pretty sure I heard Doc mention something about that."

"You were dead to the world," her father replied, looking up over the edge of the paper. "We got in so late, I felt bad getting you up. I apologize if that throws you off."

From the hesitant and slightly defensive tone of his voice, Julie was sure he expected to retaliate and snap, as seemed her character lately. Julie expected the look of shock that crossed her father's face as she replied, "It's fine. I'll just have to have a bigger lunch."

"Well make it a quick one!" her father said, turning a page with a loud rustle. "Jimmie skipped his first three periods; I need you get you to school- he'll take you around the rest of the afternoon."

Julie felt her heart skip a beat at the thought of the hours at East High; she had lost track of the days of the week in the hospital, but it was Friday, and normal high schoolers did indeed have school.

"Nobody told me about that one," Julie said, shifting her her seat as Mrs. Bolton left the mixing bowl and began to pull cereal boxes from the cabinet.

"We figured it'd be more comfortable for you, being with Jimmie," her mother said, setting out two boxes of cereal and a carton of milk. Her voice lowered slightly, in an almost embarrassed manner. Her voice trailed off and Julie felt a swell of compassion and love in her chest, touched by the small gesture; to most people it seemed insignificant, but to Julie, the careful, lenint way her parents were treating her, as opposed to the Nazi-esque manner the hospital had suggested, was almost like a peace offering.

"Thanks Mom," she said, giving a small smile. Mrs. Bolton smiled, sensing the deeper meaning to her statement as well.

* * *

Donny Dion made his way down the hall to his fourth period lunch code, glancing over his shoulder to see Brendan trailing behind him, as he had been all morning. The lanky basketball player wasn't being very stealthily; Donny had been aware of his presence all morning and was mildly creeped out by it. Usually the members of the basketball team paid him any mind unless he was with Jimmie.

Donny stopped at the top of the stairs leading down into the cafeteria, Brendan stopping awkwardly a few feet away. Donny sighed; the guy was great on the court and a complete idiot off.

"Yo, McNulty!" he called. Brendan's head shot in his direction, smiling sheepishly as he made his way over.

"Sorry 'bout that, man," he apologized. "Guess you figured out I was kinda trailing you."

_My goldfish could've, _Donny thought, but voiced, "Nah, it's cool, don't worry about it." The pair made their way down the stairs to enter the queue of the lunch line, Brendan continuing the conversation as the two loaded their trays down with the cafeteria nachos.

"Zara wasn't in school this morning, and he's _never _in school and he quit basketball, and honestly man, you're his best friend, you have to know what's up."

Donny punched in his ID number, the lunch lady clearing him along after charging his total. He didn't like where the conversation was heading.

"I might or I might now, man, but it's Jimmie's business and I'm not going to rat him out," Donny defended. Unlike most kids at East High, he actually valued the concept of trust.

He and Brendan sat down at one of the basketball team's tables in the middle of the cafeteria, Brendan saying, "I know, man, and I respect that. But I'm not the only one who wants answers. Something's going on with Zara, and I'm asking you to tell me what because I genuinely care about him; the whole bro code thing, you know? And if he's going through crap, I want to help him. He quit _basketball. _He loves it and he quit. So its got to be serious. Even I can figure that out."

"It's just stuff outside of school that he needs to focus on right now," Donny said, hoping the vague response would be enough to appease Brendan.

"Is that dance crap?" Brendan asked, his forehead knitting together in concern. "I know his mom runs that studio and he's taken classes and crap but..." His voice trailed off and his eyes widened before adding quietly, looking around to assure no one was listening, "Man, is he _gay?"_

Donny nearly spit out a mouthful of soda before swallowing but preceding to crack up. Brendan seemed to take this as a comforting sign; he relaxed and his smile returned. "Phew, okay, just checking."

"Man, the day Jimmie Zara comes out is the day Sharpay Evens dies her hair brown," Donny said with a laugh. "So its never going to happen, ok? I can promise you that one."

"Yeah, she would look way less hot as a brunette," Brendan said.

"Still talking about Jimmie, man."

"Oh, yeah, right. Zara. So its not because of the ballet thing?"

Donny adamantly shook his head; he was sure his best friend would want him to kill that rumor before it had a chance to spread.

"Than what's going on?" Brendan almost whined. "I hate being the dark."

Before he could reply, Donny felt his phone buzz from inside his jean pocket. He pulled it out, reading the text from Jimmie:

_Julie and i just got to school. pretty sure its code 4. meet you in the caf._

Service was awful within the walls of East High- Donny was sure it was on purpose- so he assumed the text had probably been sent a few minutes ago. Sure enough, he looked up and saw Jimmie, pulling Julie along by the hand, come into the cafeteria.

"If you really want to ask him," Donny said to Brendan, who had been shoving nachos in his mouth like it was his last meal, "he's right behind you."

Brendan turned and, upon seeing his friend holding hands with a girl, swallowed hastily and gave a low whistle.

"She is definitely _not _imaginary," Brendan said appreciatively, taking in Julie's form. It was mid-November, Albuquerque was still quite warm, and even in her jeans, hoodie, and scarf, looking a bit to skinny still, Julie Bolton still was a very pretty girl. Whispers spread quickly, as they always do in high school, especially when they concern one of the more popular students, so that by the time Jimmie had reached the lunch table, the cafeteria was buzzing and pointing at Julie. Donny heard the mention of Troy, and watched as Julie stepped closer to Jimmie; he put a protective arm around her shoulder.

"Julie, this is Donny, and Brendan," Jimmie introduced, pulling her down to sit next to him on the bench opposite Donny and next to Brendan.

"Nice to meet you," Julie said quietly, shifting uncomfortably.

"You too," Brendan said a little to enthusiastically. "Thought Zara was joshing about you for a while."

Julie gave a slight laugh and replied, "Nope, definitely here."

"Jules is visiting for the day and than coming to formal tomorrow night," Jimmie explained. Donny observed the pair, his mind rolling; he had never seen his friend like this. The way he looked down at her, protective, caring...he'd never seen this side of Jimmie. It was a stark contrast from the goofball skater image most associated when it came to him.

"I'm sure you'll look smoking'," Brendan said. "You'll have to save me a dance."

Jimmie laughed uncomfortably.

"So you're related to Troy," Brendan went on. Julie nodded. "How's he doing? We so miss having he and Danforth on the court."

"He's okay," Julie replied. "I haven't seen him in a few days- I think some of the crowd flew out to California; something about a game next week."

"Shit, yeah, I forgot! Berkley versus U of A! Are you going?" Brendan was reminded Julie of a puppy- really eager, full of energy. And his attempts at flirting were failing. Epically. Did he not also see her come in with Jimmie? Hold hands with Jimmie? What did she have to do, have sex with him on the table to get the point across to Brendan?

"I'll be um, home by than," Julie said, looking sideways at Jimmie. "Even if I did, I'd probably be down front with my dad and Jimmie."

But Brendan's attention span seemed to have shifted; his eyes were focused on something over Julie's shoulder. She shifted to see, and heard Jimmie mumble, "Damn it."

Julie watched as a blond girl looking disturbingly like Sharpay sashayed towards their table, a smirk growing on her face as she made eye contact with Julie.

"Well, well, well," she drawled, her accent prevalent, "if it isn't the elusive Julie Bolton."

* * *

**R&R**


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